Day in the Life
by Egglette
Summary: Thrown into the life of prep schools, roommates, and academics, Rachel 'Raven' Roth is shocked to find herself already making fast friends with a diverse group of students. What will this semester hold, and how will Raven fare as a student? BBRae RobStar
1. A New Student

**Okay, so how many of these have you seen? And how many center around Raven? Too many. I'm just adding to this list. -evil laugh-**

**I've always wanted to do one of these, and usually love everyone I read, so I hope it will do the same for you. Enjoy! **

**Rated T for language and sexual content.**

* * *

Plastered over the entrance to a large, gymnasium-like building in bold black lettering was: **Jump City Academy**. Oh, god. What was she getting herself into?

She slipped her hand into her pocket subconsciously; she wanted to be sure the letter was still in her pocket from when it had been slipped into her coat earlier that morning.

* * *

_My Dearest Rachel,_

_I hope you find your living quarters to your liking. For your protection, I have put you under the name 'Raven Roth'. Your mother's last name was Roth and from hereon out, you are no longer your father's daughter. I must ask you not to slip up, you will be responding to that name only. _

_Stay safe, and be wary of your fellow students. _

_Sincerely yours,_

_Azar_

Rachel—Or Raven—sighed and adjusted the single strap backpack on her shoulder.

_Oh Azar…what did I do to deserve this? _She was tired of running.

The building was a pale creamy color with a magnificent garden surrounding the structure. Trees bloomed with petite pink blossoms sprouting from all branches; green shrubs were cut to perfection, and a tidy patch of assorted flowers resting on the edges of the pavement.

Behind this building were tall, apartment-like buildings intended to be dorms, a darker salmon color, as well as several other offices and edifices.

The campus was a beautiful place, as were most of its students. Jump City Academy, or JCA, was a prestigious prep school that only the richest and smartest students in the nation got into. Basically, if your parents had money, you went to JCA. Other students, the ones without so much money, were here on scholarships. The school famed itself on its many scholarships as well as excellent academic school. No parent could be happier if their child got into JCA.

How Azar had managed this, she would probably never know. When Raven's mother had died do to unknown causes; Raven's father was already long gone. She suspected he had something to do with her mother's death, but she kept to herself about it. And so, her mother's trusted friend had taken Raven in. Taken the surname of Azar, Raven never bothered to use her address her by her real name.

Don't get her wrong, Raven loved Azar. She was caring and taught Raven how to handle her emotions in case of an emergency, but she was also fairly cold. There were things about Azar that Raven would never understand, like the seriousness of her manner when trying to teach Raven meditation. She promised it would come in handy one day, and that Raven would appreciate it. Raven couldn't have been older then nine and she was already alienated from the world.

* * *

_Social Studies – 1st period, Mr. Gavin_

So this was what school felt like. In a word; boring. Raven had been home schooled her entire life, and so she had never known the true tedium that followed class and school. She had already summarized half of her class. Truth be told, it was a large class, 35 or so students, so Raven only reviewed the ones who sat in front of her.

She sat towards the front, due to arranged seating (otherwise she would be sitting in the way back, far away from everyone). In front of her sat a muscular looking black kid, wearing a letterman's jacket. She pictured him as the all American boy. He struck her as a jock, but by the way he had paid attention in class and had answered every question shot at him thoroughly, it looked like he wasn't exactly your average sports guy. He was tall, and blocked most of her view of the entire board.

On her left side sat a tall, athletic but curvaceous girl with fiery red hair. Her eyes were a bright jade green and were constantly surveying the room with interest. When called upon by their teacher, she answered sincerely. This wasn't always a good idea in her case. She often got the words mixed up and carried a light accent, which Raven recognized immediately. Raven had her down as the typical foreign exchange student. Always looking for new things to study, and she was always trying.

On her other side sat a boy who looked like he'd had a sudden growth spurt. Using her judgment, which was pretty good, Raven guessed he was a few inches taller then her. His clothes were fairly tight on him; his pants went past his ankles when he sat. Their uniforms of slacks, in a girl's case plaid skirts and a blazer, and a button up white shirt looked shrunken on his body. He'd obviously grown too quickly and hadn't updated his clothes yet. His hair was a medium brown, in the classic boys cut, with tanned skin. What struck out most were his startlingly green eyes, which had winked at her once when he caught her studying him. He was obviously the kind of kid that teachers criticized and pretended to hate, but he'd smile his way out of any trouble

In front of him was another boy. He, at first, looked serious about his academic work and paying attention to the teacher, but his blue eyes wandered and were watching the exchange student hungrily. Spiky black hair and a heart shaped face, he wasn't bad looking. He'd once smiled at Raven, and she realized he had been trying to survey the new student, like she had. Only the other way around.

She'd been about to move onto her next study, a petite blond girl who had been filing her nails, when the teacher's voice rang through her ears.

* * *

"Class, we have a new student joining us from Star City, please welcome Raven Roth…Miss Roth?" 

Damn it.

"Uh…yes?"

Laughter escaped the students.

"Would you mind telling us something about yourself?"

Shit, shit, shit.

"I was born in the suburbs of Gotham with my mother and father, but my mother died and my father left, so I moved in with my mom's friend who home schooled me until she decided I wasn't being social enough so she sent me here," Raven said quickly, slinking into her seat farther. She had mumbled the entire part, and only the first row or so around her caught it. Namely, the people she had been observing.

The teacher, a balding, portly man, looked dumbfounded momentarily. "Err, thank you Miss Roth…" His voice droned out as she was mentally slapping herself. The kid in front of her twisted around in his seat and smiled.

"Well, alright! Welcome to JCA. I'm Vic, by the way." He offered out a hand. She shook it reluctantly; her pale hand looked pathetic and tiny compared to his dark, large, and muscular ones. His head had been shaved and his gray-blue eyes were sparkling.

"Raven," She squeaked. He opened his mouth to reply, but the teacher's sharp eyes landed on him and bore a hole into his back. Vic quickly turned to face him.

The teacher notably rolled his eyes. "Seeing as you're so eager to chat, Mr. Stone, maybe you would like to explain to Miss Roth our latest project and show her around campus."

The bell rang and the class stood up, gathering their books. Raven darted for the door as fast as her feet would take her, but Vic was faster. He stepped in front of the entrance, blocking her from leaving.

"Hey, where's the fire? Slow down," He laughed and moved out of the way so some other kids could pass by. Raven rubbed her arm uncomfortably and smiled meekly.

Growth-spurt-kid, as Raven had so politely named him, was suddenly at Vic's side. He flashed a toothy grin at Raven, and rested an arm on Vic's broad shoulder.

"Hey Gar," Vic greeted, messing with his friends hair. He winced and darted out of the way, finding himself next to Raven.

Vic glanced over at the large metal clock hanging over the doorway. "Alright Raven. What's your next class?" He asked, stepping out into the hallway.

Raven pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket, no, not _that_ piece of paper, and flicked it over to him.

* * *

"Hey! You've got P.E. with me 'an Gar!" He exclaimed, handing the paper back to Raven. 

"Gar?" Raven asked. She assumed he was Growth-spurt-kid, but she just wanted to confirm.

"Speaking." Growth-spurt-kid waved and slipped some books into his backpack.

Vic leaned over and whispered into Raven's ear, "Watch your back. He's worse then he seems."

Raven found herself giggling. Her, giggling. She never giggled, she never laughed, and she rarely smiled. And yet, Raven had already somehow befriended the two boys and was laughing at one of them make fun of the other! This school must give off some weird toxin, or something. She needed to find an antidote, _fast_.

"I heard that," Gar cut in, shooting a death glare at his friend.

"Of course, you can always address him as Gar_field_, if you'd like."

Gar's eyes narrowed to slits.

* * *

P.E. (physical education) had been awful. Vic obviously loved it, volunteering and being the first to go for every drill. He was sports man on campus. She quickly learned that whatever sport this school had, Vic was on the team. He was QB and captain of the football team, star player of the basketball team, iron arm of the baseball team, scary-guy-you-don't-want-to-mess-with of the lacrosse team…well; needless to say, this school valued itself on sports and their players. The teachers all loved Vic. 

Gar was another story. He was a fair runner and soccer player, but when it came to anything else, he flat out sucked. Not to mention he never stayed focused in class. Raven finally understood the meaning of the term 'Class Clown'.

Raven, on the other hand, completely hated P.E. It wasn't like she was in bad shape or anything, but let's just say sports weren't exactly her thing.

* * *

And now, by the time lunch rolled around, Raven had two more friends to add to her list. This was insane. What did she do, walk around with a sign on her back reading 'BEFRIEND ME'? 

They, by some weird coincidence of fate, ended up being the other two kids she had been watching in class. The girl, who Raven had learned was named Kori, hailed from a 2nd-world country somewhere in Europe. She had been part of Wayne Enterprises Exchange Program, and thus met Rich through there. Richard Grayson was the typical male student of JCA; smart, athletic, not bad-looking, and rich, rich, rich. His uncle, Bruce Wayne, had adopted him at his parent's death and sent him off to boarding school once he was old enough. He'd been at JCA as young as the school would allow.

During lunch, Raven learned some new things about her friends. Gar, for example, was here on an unknown benefactor's money. No one knew anything about his parents, and Gar obviously didn't like to talk about it. And he was a complete, as Vic so eloquently put it, a tree-hugging, meat-hating, animal lover.

Vic, in contrast, was here on a computer scholarship. He was apparently the computer genius, great with electronics. And if he hadn't been, he probably would be here on a sports scholarship.

And Rich and Kori were the best friend type couple who were both too nervous to make a move. There wasn't much to them that Raven hadn't already known.

* * *

They had been discussing what they intended to do with their lives after JCA when, like a light bulb had blinked on in Vic's head, the conversation suddenly wound its way back on topic of their history class. 

"So, Mr. Gavin told me to explain the project to you. Last week, we picked topics on something that is important to us. We were assigned groups, four to five people. We four got paired together…but I guess you're our fifth member unless he tells you otherwise."

Raven nodded.

"We dumbly picked names from a hat on who got to pick our topic." Vic paused and glared at Gar, who smiled broadly as he bit into his tofu burger.

"Gar won?" Raven asked, observing the two friend's playful banter.

Vic sighed and bobbed his head up and down.

"Dude, you're gonna love it! It's like, the best topic ever!" Gar shouted, almost sending Rich's soda flying. Vic and Rich groaned and exchanged glances, where Kori just clapped and smiled. She liked the idea.

"Okay, so—"

The bell rung. The other two males of the group sighed, relieved and Gar sat on his seat, mouth open and finger raised.

* * *

Raven moaned. Two more periods. She could make it through this, even without her new friends' help. As it turned out, she had the last two periods to herself. Except Gar, who had her last class, Art, with her. Luckily, Art was her favorite subject.

* * *

"C'mon, I'll show you your dorm." 

Vic motioned for Raven to follow, leading her into the salmon-colored building. The building was modeled like a college dorm room, only a bit nicer. The ground floor was a spacious recreational room, complete with televisions, gaming systems, and other brain-rotting toys.

Out of the three buildings, all five of them were in the same one. Gar and Vic were roommates, with Rich on the other side of the hall. The building was divided into two sides; one girl, one boy.

* * *

_Knock, knock, knock_. 

"Coming!" A feminine, unmistakably black voice called.

Vic's face fell as Raven's new roommate opened the door. "Sparky!" She grinned and leaned on the door frame.

"Hey…Karen," Vic mumbled, slouching. It was obvious he wasn't completely at ease with Raven's roommate, Karen. She had a slender but curvy figure and afro-like hair that was held in two buns. She had dark brown eyes and smooth, dark skin.

"What are you doing here?"

"We wish to present to you your new roommate, Raven!" Kori gave Raven a small push.

Karen now noticed Raven and beamed. "Alright," was all she said.

"Okay Raven. If you need anything, just ask Karen or Kori is just down the hall," Rich added, waving goodbye.

Gar handed Raven a slip of paper as they turned to leave, winking. Raven felt the heat rush to her face as the door closed on her new friends. But when she opened up the note, it was just a map of the school with Gar's scrawny handwriting pointing to several buildings, determining certain classes as 'cool, okay, or just sucky'. As she flipped it over, however, Gar had scrawled something on the back.

'_Hope you like it here, Raven.'_

It was simple and yet it left Raven smiling for the rest of the night.

* * *

**This is a long opener. I don't know how long the other chapters will be.**

**Okay, so I've most likely finished Pt. 1 of 'Serene', so I'm writing my next story. **

**If I don't get feedback on this, I'm most likely not going to keep writing, and I'll just delete it. Please, I want to know what you think!**

**Okay, FYI, I'll just clarify here.**

**Kori is obviously Starfire, Rich is Robin, Gar is Beast Boy, Vic is Cyborg, and Raven is...Raven. If you weren't sure, Karen is Bee. **

**This is obviously a BB/Rae, Rob/Star fic, so if you have a problem with that, I'd suggest you leave. No flames, please. **

**R-E-V-I-E-W.**


	2. Malling

**I wrote two chapters in the same night; just cuz I had the time.**

**Raven is way OOC, but I don't really care. She's so caught up in finally living a relatively normal teen life, she doesn't really notice. She will, though. Trust me.**

**Karen is about my favorite character right now. In the series, we never got to see much of Bee, but she was always one of my favorite Titans. She's confident, sassy, and very modern woman. Starfire is emotionally weak and Raven is...well, goth. I hate labeling like that, but I wouldn't know how else to really say it. **

**Sorry to say, folks, but this isn't a CyBee fic. It MIGHT be, but that is so slim right now, if it was any unlikelier, it would disappear into space like it never existed. The two are just too much alike; it would be a weird relationship. **

**I might just put them with OC's, or with no one. I don't know. If I get demands for them, I might.**

* * *

Raven's dorm room was larger then most college dorms. Then again, due to several beneficial parents, the school was never short of money. The dorm was divided into three parts; two bedrooms and a bathroom. Karen's room was a pastel yellow, furnished colorfully. The rooms weren't particularly large, just enough for a desk, a bed, a wardrobe, and maybe a television or something.. Raven's room, much to her dislike, was a light pink.

* * *

Karen couldn't keep the smirk off her face. "Sorry…last girl here was pink-obsessed," She'd explained while helping Raven unpack.

Raven grimaced and flattened out the purple and black sheets that were now covering her bed. "Although, if you're here long enough, we can get permission to repaint it," Karen quickly added at Raven's disgust.

She paused what she was doing and formed a square with her hands, surveying the walls. "Seeing as you like darker colors, maybe a subtle purple would do…" Her voice trailed off at her roommate's stare. Karen chuckled. "Sorry…I've got interior design on the brain."

Raven allowed a small smile to appear.

* * *

They were pigging out on junk food and other assorted artery-clogging rations, while watching Aladdin in Karen's room, due to the fact that Raven couldn't stand to be in her room any longer then she had to.

Raven laughed as they watched Aladdin and Jasmine make out, animated style. "Have you ever noticed how Disney always has their characters basically making out?"

Karen nodded. "As kids, we never really saw it." She popped a cheeto in her mouth and grabbed a bottle of pink nail polish. "It just proves my theory that the people who write this stuff are Star Wars nerds who still live with their mothers," She continued, unscrewing the bottle.

She held out the bottle to Raven, who shook her head. "Only if you've got black or purple," She said, pushing back Karen's hand.

Karen smiled and searched a yellow cosmetics bag that was sprawled across the floor in a pile of clothes. She finally found what she was looking for and tossed Raven a murky black bottle of nail polish.

They continued their girly ritual (Raven just keeps surprising herself!) until fingers were dried and bags of chips and other unhealthy foods were emptied. Karen glanced at the electronic clock at her bedside table.

"Oh, god, I didn't realize how late it was. We should probably get to bed." Raven agreed and grabbed one of Karen's extra pillows. Karen had promised to take Raven to buy some furniture and other things that Raven was missing for her room on Saturday, which was technically only one day away. It was officially Friday, now.

* * *

As Raven law in bed, listening Karen's faint snores through the walls, she just now fell into realization what she had spent her day doing. In the days of living with Azar, she would do her lessons, listen to Evanescence, and write poetry.

But now, she had already made five friends; a new record by far. Raven had had one or two friends in her childhood; she lived a sheltered life with her mother and…_him_, and with Azar, she never got a chance to socialize.

* * *

Vic and Rich were cool; Karen had best-friend potential written all over her, (who thought she'd ever be saying that?) Gar was…Gar, and although she didn't particularly dislike Kori, she wasn't exactly thrilled with her right now. She was a little to perky for Raven's choice. But then again, Raven was never one to be picky when it came to friends.

* * *

Raven had awoken early, due to habit. She's showered, meditated, blow dried, and, using some hot tap water from the sink, had made her breakfast; tea. She was already dressed in her choice of blue blazer and skirt, button up shirt underneath, when Karen groggily dragged herself into the bathroom. She was obviously not a morning person.

"Mornin'" She mumbled, crawling into the shower. Raven smirked and slipped into Karen's room, flipping through channels as her friend showered.

When she'd finally emerged, Karen was back to her perky self. Her uniform was a deep maroon; you got to pick from a choice of red, green, or blue colors, and her hair was piled into its usual buns.

Raven smiled and sipped her tea. They had a good two hours before class started, but Karen wanted to show Raven around a bit, and she argued that tea was not enough of a breakfast.

* * *

When they arrived in the dining hall, they were surprised to only see Vic and Rich. Gar was evidently, _not_ an early riser, and Kori ate in her room. The cafeteria never supplied what she liked to eat as her first meal; luck had turned their way in that case. Needless to say, Kori's meals could sometimes be considered a biohazard.

Rich greeted them merrily, but Vic never looked up from his food, pushing it around with his fork. He'd excused himself early, barely touching most of his bacon, eggs, corn beef hash, waffles, pancakes, potatoes and fruit on the side. Let's just keep it at saying Vic had a hearty appetite; especially when it came to breakfast.

Karen had left not much later, for she had an extracurricular class that was earlier then most classes. Raven smirked as Karen exited the cafeteria.

* * *

"What's up with them?" She asked, biting into her waffle. After all, she loved waffles more then life itself. (TT reference)

Rich chuckled as he finished off his meal. "Nothing, really. Most people assume so, but they don't exactly get along so well. Too much alike."

Raven had nothing to reply to this. Instead, they changed the subject to their math homework.

* * *

_Art – 6th period, Ms. Clyde_

Ms. Clyde was a free-spirited, hippie art teacher who believed school shouldn't be limited to classrooms. All classes were held outside, on the patio. She also insisted her students address her as Willow.

It was her fourth class with Gar, and her last class of the day. Raven had been sketching a demonic-looking man with red skin and evil looking eyes, mockingly laughing at his surroundings; a fiery, desolate landscape bubbling with lava, when a small hand found its way onto Raven's shoulder.

"Raven, your drawing is very…good," Willow commented, struggling to find a compliment in it. She wasn't lying; the drawing was spectacular, but it wasn't what Willow was used to seeing in her students.

Gar peeked over and nearly fainted at Raven's drawing. Instead of laughing and making into a joke like Raven had expected him to, he just nodded and smiled softly at her. It wasn't the smile she was used too. It was serious, never sheepish or cheesy. They exchanged smiles for what seemed like seconds, but was more likely to have been for at least a solid minute, when bell rang, disrupting them from their bliss. They both blushed as they realized, pulling away.

On her way out, Raven glanced at Gar's picture. It was surprisingly good; she never expected Gar to be an artist. It was of a woman, floating in midair, her white dress billowing at the invisible wind. The woman's hair was a pale blond, and although her eyes were closed, Raven had the sensation they were blue. The woman looked almost like an angel, expecting wings to sprout from her back at any moment. Gar eyed her and grabbed the drawing, crumpling it into a wad of paper.

Raven stared after him, picking up the picture and sliding it into her jacket pocket.

* * *

Raven had slipped into school life; day two was completed with ease. She'd gone through class; barely staying awake, eaten lunch with her friends…she reflected back to the last thought. She…had friends. To a normal person, this would seem like nothing. But to someone like Raven, it was an amazing thing. She'd have to write to Azar and tell her, soon.

By the time Saturday rolled around, Gar and Rich were already accompanying Karen and Raven to the local mall. Gar needed to buy new clothes; he'd gotten a better fitting uniform yesterday, but he wasn't expected to loll around in his uniform all weekend, was he? Rich never revealed why he'd traveled to the mall with them, but when he disappeared into a jewelry store, he didn't have too.

The group split and agreed to meet up mid afternoon for lunch and to discuss what to do next. Karen and Raven did surprisingly well. They'd purchased an amethyst paint, black wardrobe and a desk that would be delivered to their dorm within the next business hours. They still had some time left over, so they'd checked out some clothing stores. But, being girls, they walked out each time with a purchase. At least, Karen did. Raven bought a book and some pants from Hot Topic, but that was it.

* * *

The four met again at the food court. Gar and Rich groaned when they'd eyed all of Karen's purchases; so many meant that they'd be the ones to carry them around for them. Gar had changed into one of his newly obtained clothes; a pair of khaki shorts and a green etnies tee shirt, and Rich reserved his buy concealed in his pants, a slight bulge in his pockets were he'd kept it.

Gar, Rich, and Raven were ready to go but Karen was obviously not done yet. She'd dumped all of her many bags with the boys at the food court and dragged Raven through a dozen more shops. She'd even convinced Raven to buy more clothes, with the exception that she'd pay.

By the time they were finally done, it was already five o'clock. Karen and Raven were each carrying one bag or two, with Gar and Rich struggling behind, laden under all of the bags.

* * *

After finally dismissing the boys at Karen and Raven's dorm entrance, the two sorted out their purchases. Most of it was Karen's, but she'd promised to lend anything to Raven she wanted, though she doubted Raven would ever ask. Karen was a few good inches taller then Raven, and Raven was much more petite.

Kori, who had not been able to accompany them to the mall (though she would've loved to), had wandered over to Karen and Raven's room and helped them move everything in. By the time they had finished, it was already late and lights were out in the hallway. Karen had invited her to spend the night and all three slept in Karen's room, Raven and Kori laid across the floor on blankets.

Raven drifted into sleep as Gar's image of green shirt and low baggy shorts floated across her mind.

* * *

**Yes, I'm aware that I'm break happy. :)**

**I thought this was a cute chapter, but not much point. Just an introduction to Karen as the shop-crazy, feminine, bossy girl she is. She's my favorite, so far. As I said above.**

**Please, review if you get the chance!**


	3. I Never

**Okay, chapter three is hurr! I'm pretty happy with the feedback I've been getting. **

**Brought in some new characters, cookies if you can figure out who they are! **

**I don't really like this chapter, it was rather rushed. **

**Any ideas for improvement are appreciated!**

* * *

Today, Rich had turned the tender age of seventeen. His uncle, Bruce Wayne, had made reservations at the swankiest restaurant in Jump City for anyone he cared to invite, and then had rented out a hotel suite for the after party. Providing the teens had supervision, of course.

Naturally, Rich had invited the whole gang, except he'd added a few out of town friends and some people from their school. His distant cousin Roy had showed up with a girl on each arm, Garth, an athletic boy from Rich's swim team was also invited, and lastly, an old off-campus friend who went to public high school downtown; Wally.

Karen had also taken the liberty of bringing her own date, Mal. This, surprisingly, eased the tension between her and Vic.

The laughter echoed down the hallway of the hotel and nearly blasted down the walls. Two burly men with shaved heads and dark sunglasses, the kind of guys who work for the FBI, had been assigned to make sure everything stayed PG.

The group was wiping tears from their eyes at Gar's latest joke, which, surprisingly held humor, when Vic finally had stopped laughing long enough to speak up.

* * *

"Okay," He breathed. "How about we play 'I never'?"

Nods all around, except from Karen's date, Mal, who had disappeared after they had left the restaurant. He had a trumpet solo in a downtown jazz band, and needed to be there early. Roy had also slipped into some other part of the hotel, both girls giggling. No one bothered to ask where he was going.

"I'll go first," Rich volunteered. "I never…totaled a car."

Gar and Vic exchanged glances and sheepishly raised a finger each. Garth also raised a finger, looking down at his feet.

"Me next please!" Kori exclaimed. "I have never eaten a shmorghbag!" She burst out laughing. Every person there, including their supervision, eyes' widened. Each teen put up a finger.

"Uh…okay…." Gar's voice trailed off. He settled in his seat, keeping two fingers raised. "I'll go next." He paused momentarily, thinking. "Alright, I have never kissed a guy."

Most were shocked at Gar's statement. Every guy in the room nearly fainted, but whether it was out of absurdity or astonishment, it was hard to tell. Kori and Karen raised a finger. Raven looked to the ground, her face several different shades of pink. She never brought up another finger.

An awkward, somewhat tense silence fell into the atmosphere. Suddenly, a cheesy grin spread across Gar's face as he leaned over Raven.

Her eyes widened as she felt his breath on her face and before she knew it, Gar's surprisingly smooth lips were pressed against her own. He pulled away quickly, smirking.

Everyone's jaws nearly dropped the ground, their eyes seemingly bulging out of their sockets.

"There. Now, finger up," Gar commanded, laughing.

Vic coughed uncomfortably and shifted in his seat. "Err…So I never…" Raven droned out Vic's voice as she lost herself in her own thoughts.

_Oh. My. God. _

Raven's inner girly girl was screaming, leaping, and screaming some more inside her head.

* * *

"Hey Rae."

Raven closed her locker door to reveal a smiling Gar, leaning against the locker next to her own. She jumped a little; she hadn't seen him come up.

"I've told you not to call me that," She sighed, pulling a bag onto her shoulder.

"Since when have I listened to you?" He snorted, catching up to her. She had abruptly taken off once the bag was on her shoulder. She had a free period next, and she intended to go to her room and take a long, hot bubble bath.

She glared at him and kept walking.

"Fine!" He called, turning off in the other direction. His voice feigned anger, but it carried a subtle hint of amusement.

* * *

Was he just going to keep pretending nothing had happened that weekend? Maybe it didn't mean anything to him, but it sure did to her. He had been smirking the whole time; maybe he'd just thought it was just a joke. Or maybe...Raven sighed and descended deeper into the bath tub, her nose just touching the brim of the water.

If this wasn't heaven, she didn't know what was. She was just beginning to drift off to sleep when…

**_RING_**.

Ugh. Damn.

**_RING_**.

**_RING_**.

She groggily pulled herself out of the water and wrapped a yellow towel around her waist. She was just beginning to get so comfortable, too.

* * *

Raven picked at her food with disgust. You'd think for a school so rich, they'd at least have the decency to supply food that was not older then some of their students. But no, they didn't. Most students just slipped off campus for their own food, but the ones without transportation were stuck with cafeteria food.

Kori noticed her discomfort and spoke up. "Raven, if you do not wish to eat our cafeteria food, I would be happy to lend you some of my pudding!" She offered, gesturing to a green glob that resembled jell-o, only with little pink worm-like specks floating around in the middle.

Pudding? "Uhh…that's okay, Kori. This doesn't seem so bad anymore," She replied, taking a bite of what looked like meatloaf.

"Dude, how can you stand to eat that? Don't you care that a cow was killed for that?" He frowned and pulled out a plastic box, filled with a creamy white substance.

"So what? That cow was killed at least five years ago!" Vic said, throwing his arms around.

The group laughed, except for Raven, whose face heated up.

_

* * *

_

_English – 4th period, Mrs. Tristan_

"Raven Roth?"

All eyes landed on the new student, a petite, pale girl with seemingly violet hair and amethyst eyes. She looked up from a book at the muscled, serious looking man in a police uniform.

Ohs and ahs circled around the classroom, taunting and hissing.

The teacher raised up a hand to silence them.

"Miss Roth, may we see you in the office for a moment?"

She stood up and straightened her blue blazer. "Bring your things with you, Miss Roth. You probably won't be coming back," The man added. Raven's thoughts were rushing right now, but her face held a solemn look.

* * *

"Sit down, Miss Roth."

The principal of the school, two other officers and Mr. Gavin, Raven's homeroom teacher, were waiting in the office.

She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "What's going on?" She asked softly, tucking her hair behind her ears. It was a nervous habit of hers.

"Do you know this woman, Miss Roth?" The officer who had brought her to the office held up a black and white picture of a familiar looking woman. She looked nervous, almost scared, and was glancing over her shoulder.

The woman was Azar.

"Yes," She squeaked. To say that she was anxious right now would be an understatement.

The officer paused and the female officer cut in. "Hun," She began, obviously trying to soften the blow with a little comforting talk.

"We have reason to believe she's missing."

* * *

**So much in this chapter! Like I said above, I thought it was rushed. **

**Whatever; I don't feel like rewriting it. Deal. **

**I've already written the next chapter, but I'm not sure if I'm too pleased with it. **

**I've been thinking about introducing Terra and Malchior. Thoughts? Feedback?**


	4. Missing

**Okay...I know I've gotten some demands on what characters to bring in. **

**There will be Rob/Star in either the next chapter or the one that follows it, I promise! And for all you Jinx/Kid Flash, I'm most likely going to mention Jinx or Wally next chapter either. I've got a kind of angsty, dramatic way to bring Jinx in, but where KF would enter the delima...eh. Still working out the kinks.**

**This chapter is just kind of leading up to Raven finally realizing what she has until she's losing it. The first chapters were just pretty fun, but the next few are going to be pretty serious. **

**Uh...and I'malready bringing Terra in. But, FYI, I'm not a Terra hater, so she won't be made a total enemy. But I don't necessarily like her, either, so she'll be the kind of person she was in the animated series; lost.**

**As for Malchior...I'm still considering that. If you have any characters that you'd like me to bring in, please let me know. I'm currently taking requests!**

* * *

_We have reason to believe she's missing._

_We have reason to believe she's missing._

_We have reason to believe she's missing._

The female police officer's voice repeated itself over, and over, and over again so many times in Raven's head she'd lost count. She'd dismissed herself from the office after being interrogated, and had gone into her room, silent tears running down her face.

"Raven?" Karen called, knocking lightly at Raven's now purple door. They had repainted and moved in all of their furniture the weekend before Rich's party. Strike that. Technically, Vic, Gar, and Rich moved in all of the furniture and had painted the room creamy lavender.

She caught her breath and quickly brushed away a few stray tears from her face. "Come in," She replied, unaware of her smeared eyeliner and gray streaks down her cheeks.

"Um, I was going to tell you that I had a date tonight, so you should probably…" Karen's voice trailed off as she looked at Raven's weary eyes and face. "Oh my god, Raven. Are you okay?"

No.

"Yes."

Liar, liar, liar!

"Are you sure?"

Why don't we just hang you by your pants on a telephone wire while we're at it?

"Of course."

Goddamn it, Karen! Don't believe her lies and blasphemy!

"Okay." Karen moved towards the door and was already halfway out of the room when she paused, leaning on the frame. "But you know, you aren't a very good liar when you're crying."

Raven looked up from her feet to see Karen closing the door behind her.

And then she cried some more.

* * *

"Raaaaaaay-ven!" Gar's voice echoed outside her door. Giggles and squeals of Kori and Vic could be heard behind Rich's hushing. "C'mon, its movie night! Just because you're the new kid doesn't mean you're getting off that easy!"

Raven slipped out of bed and cracked the door open slightly. An amethyst eye, streaked with black liner, peered out of the opening.

"I'm not feeling too well. I'm really not in the mood," Her voice was faulty and cracked. Gar frowned and made an attempt to push his head inside.

"Aw, Rae, don't be like that. This is a very sacred and important tradition. You can't skip out on it!"

Tears welled up in Raven's eyes and she pushed the door closer to its frame. "Seriously, I just want to be alone."

"Raven, are you not feeling well?" Kori's voice appeared behind Gar's shoulder.

"No."

"Oh dear! Would you perhaps like to try some of my pudding _now_? It makes a very good remedy—"

"No."

"Are you su—"

"Yes."

Kori fell silent. Gar took another crack at moving into Raven's room, but her hand was rested firmly on it, keeping him at bay.

"Rave—"

"I want to lie down. Goodnight."

She pushed the door closed on Gar's startled face and slid to the floor, her head in her hands.

She heard them shuffle out of the room, door closing silently behind them. She remained where she was, back rested upon the door's smooth surface. She had thought they had all left when she heard the hobbling of feet and the knock of someone's head against the other side of the door.

There was silence after that for a good while. Finally, a voice found itself and spoke up. "I'm not leaving you, Raven."

Gar? Why hadn't he left?

"You always think you're so alone. Even when you eat with us, hang out with us, you're always in the back and you never speak up. I want you to know that you _do_ have friends, Raven. You've got to come out sometime."

"Please, leave Gar."

"No, Raven. I've got a cup of tea out here with your name on it," He hummed in a sing-song voice.

"Stop…"

"It's herbal…" He sang.

"Gar…"

"You know you want it," He continued, tapping his fingers against the door.

"Please…leave…"

"If you're lucky, I'll even bring you one of those sad, depressing books you like so much…"

"Gar, get out! Now!" Raven heard the glass shatter and Gar's yelp. He cursed.

Raven bit her lip and breathed in and out rhythmically.

"Hey, uh, Rae, you got a band aid in there or something 'cause I—"

She yelled and screamed several things that I'll keep confidential, and Gar quickly quieted. She heard him get up and close the door.

Tears poured from her again, splattering onto the white carpet.

* * *

When the next day rolled around, she put on the most normal face she knew. She'd slipped into homeroom silently with a strange look from her teacher.

"Raven, are you sure you want to be here? If you need extra time, just let me know."

Her lips twitched into a smile. "I'm fine, Mr. Gavin. We weren't very close, anyway." She shrugged and went over to her seat, sliding into it.

Vic turned around in his seat and smiled at Raven. "Listen Raven, about last night—"

She smiled. "Don't worry about it."

Now Vic knew something was wrong. Raven never smiled.

Raven had once stolen a glance at Gar. His eyes looked weary and tired, like he had been up all night. He'd returned the stare. To describe it perfectly would be impossible, but it left even Raven shuddering.

* * *

_Biology – 3rd period, Mr. Clemens_

During third period biology, the principal had paid a visit to the class, a mysterious figure looming behind him.

The teacher held the note away from him at arms length and read it. He looked surprised for a moment, but quickly returned the note to the principal.

Raven froze in her seat. Was it for her?

But no, it wasn't. The principal stepped aside as Mr. Clemens ushered in the mysterious person.

Mr. Clemens was a short, weak-looking man who stuttered when he spoke. "C-class, it app-appears we have an n-new student with us, today." He gestured to a slender girl with shiny blond hair and big, blue eyes. She smiled and gave a small wave. "This is-is Terra; Terra Markov."

* * *

**AHHH! TIS TERRA!**

**Lol. Okay, so as I said before, just reminding you that if you have any ideas that you'd like to share, or if you want me to bring in some Titan characters, let me know!**

**Oh, and lend me your thoughts on whether to bring in Malchior. **

**Review!**


	5. NOT A CHAPTER

NOT A CHAPTER!

Greetings, earthlings! Egglette here, just to tell you that I am looking for a helper! I really want to bring certain characters in, but I'm not sure how my ideas would work out with my readers. I would send you my ideas and maybe the chapter and you would tell me what you think – honestly. I want to be able to give me constructive criticism and not just tell me LYK OMGZZZZ ITS SOOO GUD!

If you want to help me out with this, send me a message!

**Requirements**:

E-mail

I need you to be on frequently. I'm a quick writer and I post chapters often.

If you can't meet these, sorry. Hope to hear from you!

**-Sarah/Egglette**

**xoxo**


	6. Starting Fresh

**For all you KF/Jinx fans, here comes...well, I'll just let you read. **

**I know, I know. RobStar...its only being hinted at here. Before you pelt me with inanimate, or animate, objects -dodges a feeble old man that was thrown at her- I just want to let you know I'm working my way up to it!**

**I made the titans seem like such jerks in this chapter, but it gets explained in further ones, promise. **

**Malchior is in this...but only for a short while. He's gonna come back, sorry for all those that don't like him. I know bringing him in is so cliche, but...it all turns out.**

**I think this chapter went kind of well. Its based over a period of a week or something.**

* * *

Raven's amethyst eyes narrowed suspiciously. She didn't trust this girl; she never did. She was too happy, too carefree, too…something. It wasn't right in her mind. She had seemingly appeared from no where. One day she just sat down at their table, introduced herself, and became fast friends with them. Even faster then Raven had. 

Kori and Gar especially took a liking to her. The girl, whose name was Terra, had a stomach as huge as Vic's, and would eat anything given to her. Even Kori's fungi-infected foods and Gar's tofu.

And worse, she was a flirt. She'd smile and toss her hair around when she saw any of the guys looking her way; Gar in particular.

Vic liked her too, just not as much as Kori or Gar. Rich was somewhat suspicious, like Raven, but he didn't show it.

* * *

_Art – 6th period, Ms. Clyde_

"Alright, my sunshines! Our next project is a collage on what you view life as. Use anything you'd like; magazines, newspapers, pictures! The world is your canvas, paint it your own!" Ms. Clyde, or Willow, exclaimed. Raven half expected a field of daisies to appear and clouds shaped like bunnies or other cute little animals to suddenly fill the sky.

"It is due next week, so don't put it off until the last minute!" She sang, but her voice drowned out by the ringing bell.

* * *

As Raven sat in the middle of the floor, sprawled inside a circle of cluttered papers and cut out pictures, working on her art project, she stole a glance at a picture sitting on her nightstand. It was of a younger Raven, maybe ten or eleven. She was at Disney land, hugging some guy in a Pluto suit. It was the last time she remembered being truly happy. 

As anniversary of Raven's first year with Azar, she had taken her to Disney land. Azar was not in the picture, for she was the one taking it. It was the first time she had seen Azar smile.

_Azar…Oh, Azar where are you? _

Thoughts swirled in Raven's head as she cupped her face in her hands. Peeking through her fingers, she eyed a pair of scissors sitting on top of a magazine. Her eyes twitched with tears as she slowly reached for them.

Her hands were shaky. A beam of light shimmered off the scissors blade as she turned it over in her hands. Taking long, steady breaths, she began to cut it into the skin of her arm.

* * *

The next morning, Raven was sweaty and hot. Her arms were cracked with dried blood, and for a moment she couldn't remember why. And then she remembered. 

She was a cutter. Raven had always had her problems, but she'd bottled it inside for so many years. And, in one moment of tension and fear, she had begun to let it out. But not in the way she should be.

Glancing over to the clock—which read 6:08—she pulled herself out of the bed and made her way towards the shower. Her scratches burned at the feel of water but at the same time felt strangely good.

* * *

"…Raven!" Karen was knocking on the door hard. Raven quickly turned off the shower and pulled on a black bathrobe, tugging on the sleeves to make sure they hid her arms. 

She swung the door open to reveal a very pissed off looking Karen. "Finally! I've been knocking for like twenty minutes! You've been in there for almost an hour. Are you okay?"

Raven winced. She had been hearing that a lot, lately. An hour? It hadn't seemed that long. "Sorry," She mumbled, pushing past her roommate.

* * *

_Social Studies – 1st period, Mr. Gavin_

Raven had walked to the main building by herself. She hadn't waited for Karen, she'd just put on her uniform and wrapped her sliced arms with a gauze tape. Karen would probably be worried, but she didn't care anymore. Karen was the only person who hadn't completely tuned out Raven when Terra was around, but the way she was being ignored and replaced had changed Raven back to the shy, insecure, scared girl she was when she'd first arrived at JCA.

She had been at JCA for nearly two months now, and had just begun to feel like she finally belonged when _she_ had butt in. She'd quickly grabbed Gar's affection, Kori and Vic's friendship, and was slowly gaining Rich's trust. Karen liked Terra, but she hadn't yet abandoned Raven.

And now, Raven was alone again. It wouldn't be long, she kept telling herself. Karen would become Terra's best friend, and she would be forever forgotten. Raven who?

She'd been so into her thoughts that she hadn't noticed a rapidly approaching boy. She knocked in to him, and her books had been sent flying. The boy bent down to gather her books and she'd gotten a good look at him. He was strikingly handsome, with long, pale blonde hair and electrifying blue eyes. His hair was slicked back into a ponytail, and a concerned, somewhat cocky grin was plastered on his face.

"Many apologies, Miss." His voice was British; a lovely, hypnotizing sound.

Her face flustered and she tucked her hair behind her ears. Damn those nervous habits.

She mumbled something she herself hadn't really understood, and hurried to her first period.

At the end of class, Mr. Gavin had called Raven and Terra to his desk. "Listen, Raven, I know I never really assigned you a group, so I'll be excusing you from this project," He said, referring to the project that they had been working on for the past two months. It was due next month, and worth two thirds of their grades. How could she be excused from something so important?

"But Terra here has insisted she take part in the report. So I've paired her with Gar, Vic, Rich, and Kori. You don't mind, do you? I know you were kind of working with them."

Terra smiled slyly for a split moment but then shifted her features to one that showed sincerity. Raven bit back the tears, digging her teeth into her lips until blood began to draw.

"Of course not," She finally said. Her voice startled Terra and their teacher a little; it was eerily cold and unfeeling. It scared Raven too, for she hadn't talked like that since she had come to JCA.

* * *

At lunch, Raven had sat away from her 'friends', who hadn't even noticed she was gone. For a split second, she thought she saw Gar look her way, but when she blinked, he was laughing at a joke Terra had told. Rich was hugging Kori and nibbling on her ear; it seemed Raven had missed a lot. Rich had apparently asked Kori out, Vic was dating some public high school girl who went to Wally's school, and Gar and Terra were becoming very close. 

Karen settled herself across from Raven. Both had nothing in front of them; Raven was reading (She hadn't had much of an appetite in a while), and Karen intended to eat off campus.

"Hey," She said softly, pulling Raven's book away from her. Raven looked up and blinked hard.

"Hello, Karen," Raven replied, her voice sounded hurt and bitter.

"Whoa, what's up with you?"

Raven's face hardened defensively. "Nothing, why do you ask?"

Karen held up her hands in defeat. "Uhh…I didn't mean anything. I was just wondering if you wanted to eat off campus with me. A new burger joint opened up downtown."

Raven thought it over in her head. She didn't really want to, but she couldn't stand to hear her friends and Terra laughing. It burned her ears.

Finally, she nodded.

* * *

They had been about to order when a skinny, red-haired boy dashed into the restaurant and slid in next to Karen. He was panting, but smiling nonetheless. 

Karen held up a hand at their waitress, a middle aged woman who had too much makeup on, as if to say: 'Not yet, come back later'

The boy waved at Raven and picked up a menu. "Sorry I'm late, Karen. I missed my bus and—"

Karen cut him off, "Wally?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Okay."

Wally just now noticed the dark-looking girl staring at them strangely. "Hey, Raven! Remember me? I was at Rich's party." Raven nodded; she remembered quite well. He was a well rounded, athletic boy who was the star of Murakami School track team. He and Karen had hit it off, but not in that way. Karen was dating Mal, a freshman at Jump City University and Wally's eyes were always wandering.

Raven cocked an eyebrow at her friend, who smiled sheepishly. "Guess I forgot to mention he was coming…" Karen's voice trailed off as Raven nodded her head, cutting off her apologies.

Karen smiled and leaned back in her seat, stealing a glance at the ever curious Wally. It had been strange how they'd become friends, but then again, that seemed to be the way with all of her friends lately.

Karen had been birthday present shopping for her sister's birthday, which was next week, and had run into Wally —literally— at the mall. The mall was closing in a little less then an hour, and she would never have the time to come back again. She didn't know what he was doing there, but it didn't really matter now.

She'd walked right into him and nearly knocked him out cold. She at first hadn't recognized him, but as she got a better glance at him, she realized who it was. It's kind of hard to mess up someone with hair like that.

Well, needless to say, Wally had helped her make her rounds and the two became closer then before. Unbeknownst to Raven, Karen had been leaving campus frequently for lunches with Mal and Wally. Mal had been suspicious at first, but he realized Wally had no intentions further then friendship, and had sort of bonded with him.

And when she saw Raven, more depressed then usual, guilt hit like a speeding train.

* * *

Eventually, their annoyed waitress came back and they ordered. As they finished, Raven stole a glance at the diner clock. Shit. 

It was way past lunch, and they were already into sixth period.

Karen shrugged as she noticed Raven eying the clock. "Screw it, Raven. So many kids in our school, they probably won't even notice we're gone."

Raven winced. She knew some people that definitely would not notice she was gone.

And so began their ritual. Raven, Karen—sometimes even Mal—and Wally would head over to the diner and have lunch off campus. They were sure to be more careful about how much time they spent, though.

* * *

One evening, after Raven had showered for the second time that day, to wash off more freshly produced blood, Karen had stumbled across Raven's secret. 

"Holy shit," She'd whispered. There was a miniature puddle of blood on the floor and a gleaming razor on the counter next to it. Raven was in the shower and hadn't heard Karen come in.

She'd pulled back the curtain. They were both girls; they didn't care if the other saw each other naked. Well, Raven did, and we all know why. Raven's arms were scabbed and cut.

"Raven, what the hell?" Karen screamed.

* * *

It turned out that Karen was such a motivational speaker; she could even knock some sense into a psychopath killer if she wanted to. Karen was at first angry but had softened when Raven broke down and had spilled out Azar's disappearance and all the fears that had been bundled up for so long. 

She'd made Raven agree to a rehab center her cousin's friend had gone too for the same problem, but only under the condition that she would tell no one other then Wally, who already knew. Karen had called him the first second she saw the blood because he was good at handling scary situations.

"Hello, everyone. Today, we have a new special person joining us. Say hello, Raven," Diane, their instructor, introduced. She was a perky, plain-looking, brown-haired girl that reminded Raven of a mixture of Karen and Kori.

Raven gave a microscopic wave. Raven had tuned out Diane's voice the entire time during the session, and was only snapped back into reality as she paired the class into twos.

"I want you to share with your partner your problem, and give them advice on what you think could help them. You will be with this partner until you are released. Try spending extra time with your partner, if you can. Become their friend, learn about them," She had instructed as she pointed to Raven and the girl sitting next to her.

Raven surveyed her new partner for the next week or two. She was slender, with dyed pink hair. Her eyes were a near coal-black. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, extending out a hand. "Names Jen."

Raven scratched the back of her neck, ignoring the hand gesture. "I'm Raven."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know. So what you in for?" She asked, fiddling with her pink strands of hair.

"Cutting," Raven admitted, blushing somewhat.

Jen nodded seriously.

"And you?"

Jen waved her fingers. "I'm a kleptomaniac. You know, five finger discount. After serving my time in juvie', they signed me up for some classes on how to get over my 'problem'."

Diane seemingly appeared from nowhere and placed a hand on each of the girls' shoulders. She beamed. "Well, you two are certainly hitting it off. Why don't you try getting together sometime this weekend so you can get to know each other better?"

Raven twitched as the overly-happy woman skipped away to another couple. Jen snorted and rolled her eyes.

They shared their stories a little longer, each leaving out certain things until Diane interrupted once again, ringing a small bell.

"Alrighty! We'll all see you tomorrow at four!" She waved as people pushed by her to get to the door.

Raven and Jen walked to the end of the street together before parting. "I'm meeting my friends tomorrow at Bubbas Diner at twelve for lunch," She said. "You…can come, if you want."

Jen blinked in surprise, taken back by Raven's sudden boldness. "Uh…sure," She breathed. She hadn't been invited anywhere in years.

"Okay," Raven turned around the corner. "See you tomorrow."

* * *

**Hah! I bet you know who Jen is! Klepto...hah. Okay, so...**

**This chapter was pretty serious. I hope you guys all like it.**

**And I'm sorry to say that I've found my helper...Rainbow-Jess. She was the first to contact me, and in all fairness, I picked her. I'm sorry...but you're still welcome to send me your ideas or critique!**

**Kind of long, and I know, I know, the titans are so very jerk-ish. But seriously, it will all be explained! **

**More of Terra, Malchior, Jinx/Jen, Wally/KF, Karen and more coming soon! DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!**

**-foams at the mouth and falls over**-


	7. Stolen Soul

**This chapter was sad for me to write. **

**Writing Raven's story here reminded me of my own life, but I won't go into it.**

**Again, I am sorry for not doing more RobStar. But with the drama and angst going on in the story, right now, it's kind of hard too. And whats worse, once they get rid of the Terra problem (temporarily), Malchior comes in. Oy, the drama.**

**Oops...hope I didn't give too much away!**

**Read on!**

* * *

"Jeez, Raven. Would you quit looking at the clock? We're not going to be late for class; we haven't even ordered yet."

Jen was not here yet, and Raven was afraid she would not come. She wouldn't admit it, but Raven needed friends now more then ever.

Raven finally tore her gaze away from the clock, watching her best friend smirk. Lately, it seemed like Karen and Wally were the only friends she had. And it was all because of _her_.

_She_ had everything. She _was_ everything Raven was not. She was pretty, she was slender, she was popular. She was perky, she was happy, and she would—could let people in.

Raven was nothing in comparison. She was pale, she was ugly (in her eyes), she was fat (again, in her eyes. In reality, she is far from either), and she was substituted for something better.

She stared down at her covered arms, feeling the tears burn at her eyes. She hadn't cut in nearly three days, but she was itching to. It was driving her past insanity. Raven was the kind of person who lived to torture herself. She had endured so many hardships, her heart had been broken and scarred so many times, that it had become somewhat or a ritual for her. But she never had the chance.

Karen felt somewhat guilty for Raven's cutting, and kept a watchful eye on her. Karen knew that she, Jen, and Wally were the only things between Raven and her sanity.

Raven had once broken down in school, not being able to put down a pair of scissors. During a class, they had gone to the library to research. But Karen had been there for her…and so had Gar.

_FLASHBACK_

"_Raven…calm down. Put the scissors down, Raven," Karen's soothing voice filled her ears. A slender river of tears was flowing from each eye. She was pleading, crying, shaking with the pair of scissors in her hands. _

_Gar had somehow wandered from Terra's grasp and had found them at that moment, in the back of the library. His green eyes darted back and forth from Karen, to Raven, to the pair of scissors that she cupped. _

"_Raven…what are you doing?" He'd cried, frantically rushing to her side. She opened her mouth to speak, but only more tears came. She sobbed harder, trying to find the words._

_He held her and rubbed her back, humming softly in her ear until the crying ceased. Karen had disappeared in that moment, and had the rest of the world. No one else existed; no one else mattered. It was just her and Gar, Gar and her._

_And then the moment was gone. The bell had rung, signifying that the class was over. Terra poked her head around the corner, disrupting Gar and Raven. She'd handled it the only way she could; pulling them apart._

_She grabbed Gar and pulled him away, murmuring something about being late for the next class._

_Gar nodded, and without looking back, left the room. _

_END FLASHBACK_

Another memory began to awaken in her mind, but a familiar voice pulled her from her trip down memory lane.

"Uh…Raven?"

Raven looked up to see a very nervous-looking Jen. Her long pink hair was pulled into a long braid, and her black eyes were flickering back and forth from Raven and Wally. Karen titled her head at Raven, waiting for an answer, and Wally…well, to say he was interested would be an understatement.

"Oh, hey Jen. Karen, Wally, this is Jen. She's in my rehab class," Raven finally said, letting a small tug on her lips form.

Wally's grin grew as he slid over in the booth to make room for Jen. He mouthed a greeting and waved his eyebrows.

"Hey, Jen. I'm Karen, and the hormone-crazy kid next to you is Wally," Karen cut in with a smile, and Jen couldn't help but smile back. She could see why Raven liked her.

* * *

At that same moment Jen had joined Karen, Wally, and Raven for lunch, a boy on the other side of town, fiddled with his food nervously. It was just four today, instead of the usual five. Their fifth member, a peppy blonde, was sick with food poisoning (no doubt from the cafeteria) and hadn't come out of her room in a day.

"Guys," he began, sliding his tray away from him. His appetite had disappeared. His three friends looked up from their meals and studied him. His face looked serious, a rare break from its normal perky. "Has anyone else noticed that Raven never eats with us anymore?"

This hit the rest of the group like a brick. Snapped into realization, they were left speechless.

"Karen, too," Vic finally said, his voice lowered.

"I haven't even seen either in the lunchroom for nearly a week," Rich added. Come to think of it, none of them had really heard from Raven in a while. Karen was occasionally there, but she was quieter and colder.

As it turned out, Terra was in every one of Raven's classes. And any class Raven shared with Vic, Gar, Rich, or Kori, Terra was there too.

Kori's eyes diverted back to her food, guilt washing over her face. "I am unfamiliar with this countries ways of living, but…" Her voice trailed off.

"What, Kori? You can tell us," Rich encouraged, drawing an arm around her.

_FLASHBACK_

_**Tweet!**_

"_Alright, ladies! I want you to hurry up and change, this time. None of that prissy, pampering stuff!" The voice of their P.E. teacher called through the door. _

_As Raven later discovered, Kori too had gym with her, Vic, and Gar. While changing, Kori had stolen a glance at Raven as she slipped off her blazer. For a brisk moment, she thought she had seen red, blistering scars trailing up her 'friend's' arms. _

_Raven had met her stare, quickly slipping a black sweatshirt over her P.E. uniform. _

"_Raven—"_

"_Not now, Kori. You heard Ms. Bailey. We don't want to be late."_

"_But friend, your—"_

_Raven pushed past and scampered out the door. Terra peered her head over the lockers and stared at Kori blankly._

"_What was that all about?" She asked._

"_I am…unsure," Kori replied, tugging at the ends of her shirt._

"_Whatever. She's probably just being all moody Goth-like. Just ignore her, Kori."_

_Just ignore her, Kori…Just ignore her…_

_END FLASHBACK_

"Cuts on her arm? And you're sure?" Kori nodded in reply. They were speaking in hushed whispers now and she was near tears.

Vic leaned back in his seat. "Man…that's really serious. I wonder if anyone knows." The group fell dead silent.

"Friends?" Kori's ever innocent voice broke their quiet. "Is Raven…alright…in her mind?"

The way Kori had pronounced it made it sound much more eerie and shattering.

Gar looked to the empty seat Raven used to sit in. But it wasn't Raven's seat anymore. It was Terra's. It was had been taken over by Terra, she had replaced it.

She had replaced her.

* * *

_Knock, knock, knock_

"Hold on Jen, I just need to hide the razors and I'll be right with you!" Karen's voice called from the other side of the door. Raven's roommate obviously was expecting it to be Jen, bringing Raven home from the rehab center. Jen always came up a little earlier then Raven, to help Karen hide anything potentially dangerous.

"Uh…Karen? It's me, Gar."

There came no reply. Slowly, the dorm room door cracked open. "Oh, hello Gar."

Karen's voice was strangely cold, unlike the usual, bossy and happy Karen Gar had known. She extended the word 'Gar' like it was a curse. Karen was the type of person who was protective of her friends, and resentful of the ones who hurt them. And in Karen's eyes, Gar, Vic, Rich, and Kori were the source of Raven's problems. Gar especially.

He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his neck. "Uh…I was wondering if Raven's home, Kare." Karen's eyes narrowed to slits.

"No, she isn't. She's at a class."

A class? This late in the day? School had ended nearly two hours ago.

"Oh, okay. Well, could you tell her—"

"Tell her what?" Jen said from behind him. Twirling around, Gar racked his brains to remember who this girl was. She obviously knew Raven or Karen, but he hadn't seen her at JCA before.

"—that I was looking for her?" He finally finished, not daring to meet Karen or the pink-haired girl's eyes.

"Why don't you tell her yourself?" Jen motioned to the opening elevator door, an exhausted, somewhat scared-looking Raven exiting.

"Gar?"

"Oh, hey, Rae," He stuttered. The word 'Rae' felt so different as it left his lips. He hadn't used that word in nearly a month.

"What do you want?" She asked, hugging her arms to her body. Gar winced; he had never seen Raven this way. She looked so…scared, so destroyed and lost. Even when she first had arrived on JCA, she was never so hurt-looking. When he'd comforted her when she was crying in the library, she had been sad. But this was something different. It was something else.

The Raven he knew was sarcastic, verbally abusive, mature, and contemplative. This Raven was unknown to him.

"I just…I haven't seen you in a while—"

"Gar!" A high-pitched, female voice called at the other end of the hallway. Four heads swerved to see the voice's owner. A blonde, blue-eyed girl was waving at him, her head peeking out from behind a dorm room door.

He waved nervously back.

"Rae—"

"Go, Gar. She obviously wants to talk to you. Which is more than what I can say for myself." Raven pushed past him and into her room. Gar tried to catch another glimpse of her as she left his presence, but Karen and Jen blocked the view.

Karen was staring coldly at Gar, Jen's face set in a scowl. She gestured to a confused-looking Gar. "Is he one of _them_?" She asked, drawing out the word 'them'. If she could've, Jen would've spit on it.

"Yes, he is. He _used_ to be her friend." The door closed in his face.

"Gar!" the girl screamed again, this time in the middle of the hallway and stamping her foot. "Come in and make me feel better, you big teddy bear!" She laughed at her own joke as Gar tore away from his post.

* * *

**I'm really not too sure with this piece right now. I haven't yet thought of how to explain what Terra is doing. **

**I know I make her seem really bad, and any Terra lovers might hate me right now, but all Terra is is lost. She is like Raven. She replaced Raven because she is lonely...understand? Eh, if you don't right now, you will later.**

**The story has an arc much like the one the Titans animated series did. She'll be hurt, go, and come back. But, hehe...thats all for now!**

**REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW!**


	8. Manipulation

**Yay! Chapter 8!**

**So...this chapter just introduces a certain maniuplating womanizer...oO**

* * *

For the past week or so, Raven had been trouble sleeping at night. The memories of the blades slicing her pale skin was all too fresh in her mind, and Azar's black and white shot, the one taken before she went officially missing, that had been almost a month ago now, haunted her and her dreams.

And so she'd slipped into a small, dark room in the recreational area of the building, which few people knew about, frequently. She would sit there, herbal tea in hand, and just think.

Sometimes, as Azar had instructed her, she would mediate to soothe her mind. She had been so used to the darkness, that a sudden entrance of light, an umbra of a person in the center, nearly caused her to faint. Even though she had barely been grasping her mug, it shattered and the pieces scattered across the floor. Raven would later assume she had dropped it in all the commotion.

Someone had opened the door and discovered her.

"Many apologies, Miss," A harmonious, British voice called, weaving its way through Raven's body and soul. The voice was familiar to her, like a beautiful silk thread, it could never be forgotten.

She choked on her words and bent over to gather up the shards.

The voice's owner approached Raven without caution, gently picking up some of the sharper or larger pieces. She mumbled something about it not being necessary, but the murmur was hushed.

"A lady should not strain herself with such a task," The voice sang, brushing against Raven's hand as she reached for a shard. The blood rushed to Raven's cheeks, resulting in her face turning several shades of magenta. "And to whom do I have this pleasure?"

"Raven," She'd managed to stutter out, once again bringing a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"A lovely name for a lovely lady."

Raven blushed harder.

The figure bowed. Raven now got a second chance to look at him as the light hit his face. It was the boy from so long ago, pale-haired and blue-eyed. "I am Malchior."

"That is…a unique name," Raven finally said.

"As is Raven," He replied mysteriously. Raven left it at that.

"Tell me Raven, why do you sit here alone in the dark? Surely such a beautiful girl as yourself should be safely tucked into bed, sleeping soundly."

Beautiful? No one ever called her beautiful before. This boy certainly knew a way to a girl's heart.

"I…couldn't sleep," She said, hugging her arms to her body.

"I see. Well, for your best interests, I think it would be wise for you to get some sleep."

Raven nodded and quickly brushed past him, their shoulders touching for one brief instant.

Raven flushed again and quickened her pace.

"Goodnight, Raven. Perhaps I shall see you another time," He called from behind her.

* * *

The next morning, Raven awoke feeling more refreshed then she had in a long time. She showered at her usual time, meditated for a while, and then had waited for her friend and roommate to arouse from sleep. 

Karen slept in that morning; she had been up all night studying. Eventually, Raven left a note for her friend on her nightstand and slipped out the door to the lunchroom. It meant she'd be eating breakfast alone, if she ate at all, but she did not mind.

* * *

The moment she slid her tray onto the plastic-coated table, she sensed a presence behind her. 

"Raven? Is this seat taken?" A pale hand gestured to an empty seat across from the dark-haired girl.

"Yes," She replied bitterly. "The figment of my imagination that replaces all wanting of friendship is currently residing there." Raven regretted the moment the words left her lips.

But he did not back off, as most would have by now. "Touchy subject, I presume."

Raven murmured thanks in her head that he did not leave.

The minute he was seated across from her, half of the student body's eyes were on the two. They all knew of the boy's games, and after returning recently from a month of reasons unknown, this much was clear: He was not to be taken lightly.

But of course, Raven was the new kid, and knew nothing of this boy's treacherous past.

She could feel all eyes boring into her back, and the looks she received. She assumed, of course, that she had done something wrong, or a new line of gossip surrounding her had come into play. But something was not right about one of the stares. She turned slowly to see a very angry looking Gar. His table mates looked almost equally angry, excluding one girl who looked confused amongst all of it, but he was by far the worst.

As Raven followed his gaze a little farther, she noticed he was not staring at her, but at Malchior, who was currently ignoring all looks aimed towards him.

Thoughts rushed to Raven's head by impulse. Was…Gar jealous?

Almost minutes later, Karen settled herself next to Raven, not noticing Malchior.

"Hey Raven. At first, I was a little worried, but then I saw your…note…" Karen trailed off as she eyed Malchior at their table. Her mouth was open and her eyes were slightly squinting, as if trying to figure out what the hell this guy was doing with Raven. She knew all to well of this boy's history.

Leaning over Raven so no one else would be able to hear, Karen cupped her hands around her ear and whispered, "Raven, Hun. We need to talk. Now."

Raven looked at her in awe, wondering what could be the cause of the stress in her friend's voice. But Karen never got her chance. The minute the words left her lips, a bell sounded. Breakfast was over, and the school day had begun.

* * *

As soon as Raven's foot entered the dorm room proximity, she was greeted by unfriendly stares and grunts. Wally, Karen, and Jen shared a look of worry and anger. 

"Raven…where were you?" Karen gritted through her teeth, though looking somewhat relieved.

"What…what do you mean?" A momentary loss of memory swept Raven's mind. She searched it, hoping to find the correct answer.

"Oh, I don't know. Lunch…a certain _class_ you didn't attend?" Jen spat, tapping her fingers against her arms.

Oh, shit.

"I…I ate with Malchior today. He asked me if I would like to join him for lunch, and it just kind of made me forget…"

Karen breathed hard, as though trying to forget Raven's last comment. "_That_ is somewhat understandable. What I _don't_ understand, is why you bailed on class. You know how important it is!"

"And, you left me hanging with Diane-the-wonder-girl," Jen added.

Wally hung back, waiting for his moment to strike.

Raven was at a loss for words.

Karen's face finally softened. Seeing the action, Jen cocked her head at her.

"Raven…there is something you need to know about Malchior…"

"YO, Raven!" The loud, angry voice of Vic blared through the door, disrupting Karen from explaining it. Behind him stood an even angrier Gar, even angrier then before, an-angry-but-not-so-much Rich, a worried Kori, and an annoyed Terra.

"We need to talk about your little boyfriend."

Jen snorted and admired her nails, where Wally's eyes narrowed as he resumed position next to Jen. Karen stiffened.

"Thank you, Sparky," She hissed, extending the word 'Sparky'. "I was just getting to that. Though, I'm not sure why you would care."

"Why we would care? Raven is our friend and we care very much for her!" Kori shouted from behind Vic, raising an arm and pointed finger.

"Really," Wally finally commented, spitting on the word. "Not from where we stand."

Rich peered over Vic's shoulder to see his friend, normally a very hyperactive and spunky boy, frowning reasonably at the group. "Wally?" He whispered, shocked at the remark.

The red-haired boy turned his head away and looked to the ground.

* * *

The two groups of friends-who-were lashed out at each other and resulted in a full-blown fight. Raven, in the middle of it, was cowering in the corner, near to tears. That was when the passing eyes of Malchior landed on her. The fight had moved into the room and no one noticed Raven slip out, despite the fact that their argument centered on her. 

"My dearest Raven, what ever was that about?" He asked as they strolled down the hallway. He had only known her for less then twenty-four hours, but had already burrowed his way into Raven's heart. She could not resist him.

"I'm…not sure," She lied.

"Come now, don't lie to me," He soothed, reaching for her hand.

She melted with the gesture. "They say there is something I do not know about you, something that I should know."

For a fraction of a second, a near evil grin rested upon his features. But then she blinked, and he was staring, wearing a look of astonishment.

"I cannot see why. Is being your friend a crime?" He asked innocently.

Raven did not reply. "Perhaps they are jealous. These are the friends, who replaced you with the blond girl, are they not?"

Again, came no answer. "And now that you have something nice in your life, instead of trauma, they do not wish for you to have it?"

"But…Karen…Jen…Wally…they were my friends. They did not leave me…"

"Right now they haven't. Were they also not trying to tell you something unfortunate about me?"

"Well…"

They had reached the other side of the building; the boys section. As they came to a plain-looking door, they parted.

Malchior let go of Raven's hand, but not before giving it a slight kiss. "Until next time, my dear Raven."

"Until next time…" She whispered back as the door closed.

* * *

**Oh, he's smooth. Not much else to say...but don't forget to review!**


	9. Damn Voices In Our Heads

**This is chapter nine...right? Uh, yeah, I think.**

**So, for all you RobStar fans, I've finally begun to shed some light on their relationship. Sorry for the teaser, folks. I'm just having too much fun with it. **

**So, I'm aware several people want to kill Malchior right now...I think thats a good thing; that means I made him hated. Or is that just because everyone hates him so much already?**

**To BBRae4life - Grr...I wish I could reply to you! But um...Raven's gonna have to find out the hard way. And the angst comes back, yes. So you were on the right track. **

* * *

When Raven had arrived back in her room that morning, she could only guess what happened. Knowing her friends, they probably bickered until they noticed she was gone or it just got so bad, everyone just split. Karen was probably in her room, fuming, and everyone else had gone home or to their own rooms.

The next morning, Raven awoke earlier then usual and had hurried her way all through the morning. Slipping out of the room silently, she made her way down the corridor with a steady pace. Karen was a late sleeper; she probably wouldn't notice Raven's absence until later.

Which is why she ran into the last person she expected to: Kori.

"Raven," Kori at first said softly, trailing her eyes over the dark-haired girl. "Are you feeling…alright?" She stumbled with her words, trying to pick the right ones.

Raven looked to her feet; she had nothing to say. Kori kept opening her mouth and blinking her eyes at Raven, though trying to speak, but the words never came. After what seemed like a lifetime, though rather a few seconds, Raven continued down the hall.

Whispered so lightly, so that if Raven had been a couple inches a head, she wouldn't have heard it was, "I am sorry."

What was she supposed to do? One part of her was screaming, wildly jumping up and down, ripping out her hair and waving her arms at Kori madly, where the other was sitting in a corner, scowling. In a calm tone, the voice told her to keep walking. She listened to the second one.

* * *

"You can't avoid me forever, Raven." 

No, Karen. Raven felt like putting her hands to her ears; she did not want to talk to Karen. Not right now.

"…What?"

"I think you know what I mean," Karen slid her tray onto the table and took a seat next to Raven. She straddled both legs on the bench, one hanging over each side. She took one of Raven's hands and bit her lip. Karen always did that when she was uncomfortable.

"Raven…you may not want to hear what I'm about to tell you," She paused, "But I'm telling you nevertheless. I'm sure you know Malchior took a month off of school, correct?"

Raven nodded.

"It wasn't by choice. Raven, he was—"

"Ladies," a silky voice came from behind the two girls. Karen could swear she saw a sly grin rested on his face for a moment. "Am I interrupting something?"

Karen gritted her teeth. "Yes, as a matter of fact you are. Do you mind?"

"Many, many apologies…Karen, was it?" Karen narrowed her eyes at him, biting her tongue to keep herself from lashing out. "But you see, I have something very important to ask our friend Raven."

Raven looked up from gaze into her lap and blinked at Malchior blankly. Karen was biting her lip again, unseen by Raven. Her eyes looked fearful and she looked around the bustling cafeteria for help. She knew what was coming.

"…I'm sure you are aware of our school's dance…" Karen was boring her eyes into Vic's neck.

_Please turn around, please turn around_, she pleaded silently. In the nick of time, he turned and took not even a nanosecond to comprehend what was happening. He nudged Gar, who looked up from his breakfast burrito.

"…And, I would be honored if you…"

"Malchior, old buddy!"

They all turned to see a smirking Gar, arms outstretched at Malchior. "Gimme a hug!" He grabbed the pale-haired boy and pulled him into a hug, slapping him on the back. Looking over his shoulder, he and Karen mouthed a conversation.

'What are you doing?' She mouthed.

He widened his eyes and looked ready to scream. 'I don't know!' He mouthed back.

Eventually, he pulled away and clasped his hands together, beaming at Malchior. Malchior straightened his white shirt and tie, awkwardly stepping away inch by inch.

Raven, amongst this all, felt ready to explode. Malchior had been about to ask her to the dance. Raven, being asked to a dance! And now, her "friends" had interrupted the moment and he might not ask her again. Did they just like seeing her unhappy?

But Malchior did not look ready to give up. He forced an uncomfortable smile and opened his mouth to speak. But whatever he said was drowned out by the ringing bell. He flared his nose momentarily, but smiled again. Bowing, he grabbed Raven's hand and kissed it, departing with the words, "Another time, my dear."

* * *

In the hallway, Raven managed to catch Gar by himself, loading books into his locker. 

He smiled as he saw her approaching. He hadn't realized how much he missed seeing Raven storming down at him, fists clenched. Of course, in the past situations, he had played some prank on her or done something that made her want to maim him. She actually looked quite pretty when she was angry…Oh god.

_Stop, stop, and stop!_ Whoa, where did that come from?

"Gar…would you mind explaining to me what happened during breakfast?" She hissed through gritted teeth.

He couldn't help but slink his shoulders. He really hadn't wanted to talk about that.

But this was Gar. Gar, who could smile his way out of any problem, laugh his way out of any tension, or prank his way out of suppressed feelings. Gar, who could get out of anything.

"Now, Rae. Let's not be hasty," He smiled at her. She softened her shoulders.

_Good_, he thought. But it was not for reasons he thought. She missed being called Rae. Only Vic or Gar usually had called her 'Rae', and it pained her somewhat when she heard it again.

The bell rang. It was times like this that he really understood the term 'Saved by the bell'.

"Eh, gotta jet. But I'll see you around, 'kay Rae?"

That goddamned bell! Someone up there must _really_ not like her.

* * *

When lunch rolled around, she saw Karen and Malchior both coming at her from different directions. Seeing him, Karen gained speed and reached her before he did. She linked arms with Raven and threw a smug glance at the boy, who was struggling to maintain his cool.

* * *

"We should really get going soon, Karen." 

Karen shook her head and took a long sip of her drink. "No way," She said.

Jen and Wally exchanged glances and smirked at Raven's confused look.

"Today is our day. We are going to paint the town!" Jen exclaimed, laughing.

"I'm thinking a nice yellow," Wally added, smiling at Jen.

"What? We can't skip school!"

"C'mon, Raven. It's three to one. Majority rules," Jen continued.

Raven glared at her three friends, mouth open, for a few seconds. But the more she thought about it, the more the idea appealed to her. Her lips twisted into a small grin, hardly something she had done in a long time.

* * *

"I spoke to Raven today," Kori said softly, picking at her food. She and Rich had also decided to eat off campus today. Everyone, Kori included (secretly, though), assumed it was a date, but Rich protested that it was just a friendly lunch with two friends. They had dated once, but things got so awkward that he had decided to pretend it never happened. 

He looked up from his cheeseburger. "What?"

"In the hallway, this morning," She replied, pushing her food away.

"How was she?"

"As well as someone in her position can be. I do not think she is aware of what he is capable of."

Hormones raging, Rich leaned over and grabbed Kori's hand. Kori was near tears. "Don't worry, Kori. We won't let him anywhere near you again."

He pulled himself out of his chair and draped his arms around her. She nestled herself in his chest, though refusing to allow tears.

* * *

"Wally! Hurry up with those bags!" 

He grunted under a mound of shopping bags and boxes in reply.

"I knew coming to the mall was a bad idea," He finally managed to say, sticking his head around the pile.

"Shut up, no one cares," Jen laughed.

Raven almost walked into Jen, who had stopped abruptly in front of a jewelry window shop. She was staring at a red jewel on a ribbon, like a necklace.

Karen put a hand on her shoulder. She knew what Jen was thinking. "Keep walking, come on."

Jen twitched her fingers, shaking them out. Three months and she hadn't stolen a thing. Meeting Raven, then Karen and Wally, really had helped. She'd be lost without them.

"Okay, so we've got another hour and a half until Jen and Raven need to head over to class," Karen began, "Here's what I propose. We each take turns with our stores, and one person should always at least buy something!"

Jen and Raven exchanged glances. The only one in the group with money was Karen. Raven got some money from the government, Wally had an allowance, but Jen lived on her own; except for her older cousin who was _never_ around. And none of them even crossed the borderline to rich.

Acknowledging this, Karen wanted to hit herself a million times over. She was mentally slapping herself. "Right…stupid Karen, stupid…well, how about this?"

Two figures appeared next to Karen's shoulders as she thought. They were both Karen, though clad differently. One was dressed in a spandex suit, holding a whip. Horns rose up from her afro-buns and a long tail shot out from behind her. The other wore a long white robe, a halo on her head and wings sprouted from her back.

"Let's torture Daddy. He just hates it when we max out his credit card," The spandex-wearing one said.

"No, no! We can't do that to our father!" The other shouted.

Karen jerked her head back and forth between the two. Of course, this looked very strange way over back here in reality, because Karen was muttering to herself and whipping her head back and forth.

"What about the time he cut off our credit card?"

"It was only for a month!" The white-robed one protested.

"When he sent us off to this school?"

"But look how many friends we've made out of it!"

The one in black bit her tongue playfully, casually turning her head to look at the one in white. "When he took away our cell phone?"

The white-robed Karen opened her mouth to speak, but instead, smiled evilly.

"Do it."

"Uh…Karen?" Jen waved a hand in front of Karen's face, snapping her back into the real world.

"Hm? Oh, how about this? _I_ have to buy at least something for one of _you_ every time we go into a store!" She practically screamed. (Cue anime Karen, rubbing hands together evilly.)

No one really rejected to this. They could see Karen wouldn't take no for an answer; she was especially stubborn. Jen grinned, Raven smiled softly to herself, and no one could really see what Wally was doing behind all those bags.

Karen broke out in a malicious smile. Jen and Raven backed away slowly, somewhat intimidated by this very evil looking Karen. She grabbed the two girls' hands and dashed into the nearest clothing store.

Behind the pile of bags, Wally huffed and puffed to keep up. "Hey! Wait up!"

* * *

**Necklace is a reference from Lightspeed...yeah. **

**Okay, so this chapter was just meant to lighten the mood a bit. I added comedy, even though I suck at writing it...**

**Lol...I especially liked Karen and Gar in this chapter.**

**Have I got you wondering what is so mysterious at Malchior yet? If I haven't, I'll just keep adding the mystique and intrigue! -cackles-**

**_REVIEW_!**


	10. Life Is Much Less Random Then We Think

**Okay...so...I gotta go, so I don't have much to say.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I OWN ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!**

* * *

_Pant, pant_. 

Wally managed a slight grin. "Guys...evil…you…are…" He wheezed.

Jen laughed mockingly as she dumped out the contents of the last bag in the red-hair's arms. He feigned tiredness and slunk onto Karen's bed over dramatically, arm slung over his forehead.

"Karen," Raven suppressed an evil snicker. "You do realize your father is going to kill you."

Karen didn't reply, just smirked.

They were interrupted from putting the clothes into three piles; one for Karen, one for Jen, and one for Raven. Four, if you counted Wally's disgrace of a pile.

A knock at the door came. Raven, being closest, went for the door, only to be greeted by a blond head of hair and big blue eyes.

She waved slightly and rocked on her heels. "Uh…hi, Raven. I was wondering if Karen was in…"

Raven concealed her fear. Here it comes, she thought. Karen is slowly succumbing to this girl's charms…

Upon hearing her name, Karen bolted to the door, exchanging hellos with the girl at the door. Karen was smiling, Raven's mouth was held in a firm line that refused to show emotion, and Jen and Wally hung back, surveying the scene.

Terra held up a notebook and a pen. "Wondering if you would let me use your science notes," She said with a grin. Karen nodded and motioned for her to follow. Terra giggled at the sight of Karen's messy room; to someone who hadn't spent the day with Wally, Karen, Jen, and Raven the room looked positively dreadful.

Karen chuckled, "Let's just say that Daddy will be hearing from the credit card company soon."

Terra acknowledged the meaning behind this statement and moved from giggle to laugh. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Wally and Jen watching her; now noticing them. She turned with a smile.

"Don't think I've seen you 'round JCA before," She said.

"We go to the public school," Wally replied. He frowned inwardly. This was the girl that he'd heard so horribly about? She didn't seem bad at all. She was…nice.

She nodded, not giving it a second thought. Most of the snobby, rich kids of JCA wouldn't dare mingling with middle class civilians.

Karen gave an 'ah-ha!' and pulled out a worn black notebook. She handed it to Terra, who waved goodbye to the four and slipped out the door with a last, "I'll return it soon!"

"She was nice," Wally finally said, breaking the silence that had come with her leave.

Jen nodded to agree, but Karen was watching Raven sympathetically. Raven didn't say anything for the rest of the day, just shaking her head yes or no if a question was directed towards her. Should the question require more then a yes or no answer, she would just stare ahead, unblinking.

* * *

The next morning was surprisingly pleasant. Karen had, for once, decided on going to bed _before_ midnight so she and Raven both woke up around a similar time. Well, technically Karen woke up twenty minutes after Raven, but that was a great improvement compared to her normal hour and forty-five minutes later.

The cafeteria was flooded with posters advertising their winter dance, making Raven feel somewhat claustrophobic. Karen eyed a poster and threw her fork down.

"I say we bail on the dance," She sneered.

Raven looked up at her friend from her book. She hadn't been planning on going, but she thought for sure that would be the kind of thing Karen would love.

"I mean, at all my years at JCA, I've found they don't even begin to compare to some of the underage night clubs I've been to."

"Underage night clubs?" Raven asked; she had never heard of one of those before.

"Yeah," Karen continued, "Some kids, a few years ago, got their parents to buy some old warehouses and lend them out to the public. They started up a club for underage kids, but I'm surprised you've never heard of them. Anyway, they've got everything that a normal club would have, just more supervised, severely non-alcoholic, and completely drug-free."

"Sounds pretty cool," She said.

Karen nodded, drawing her friend in. "I heard there is gonna be one the night of the dance. The night clubs are mostly for the public school kids; a lot of the kids here don't want to be seen in a place like that. People here just use their parents' influences to get into a real club. But I like the underage ones more.

"I called Wally this morning while you where in the shower, he's coming. He's gonna _try_ to get Jen to come, and I don't doubt his success. He's got a power over that girl, I tell ya."

Raven smirked. She let Karen keep talking, for she really didn't have much to say.

"And Mal is already going with me," She beamed. Raven felt a little glad; she hadn't heard about Mal in a while and was beginning to worry.

Karen cocked an eyebrow at her best friend, a small smirk played across her lips.

_Uh-oh_, Raven thought. Karen only got that way when she had devious thoughts…

Raven had a foreboding about this; she didn't like the way Karen was smiling at her. "So we'll just have to find someone for you to bring," She finally said, grinning ear to ear.

Raven didn't immediately reject the idea like she would've normally done. "I could ask Malc—"

Karen's eyes widened in shock and fear. "No! Not him."

Raven was fearful of Karen's sudden change in expression and quickly dismissed the idea. She shrugged.

"I'll just fly solo," She said, forcing a diminutive smile. "I'm used to it," She murmured under her breath.

Karen had heard this but didn't push the matter. "I'm beginning to tire of the burger scene," She changed the subject.

Raven mockingly placed a hand over her heart and gaped. "What? Karen Beecher is tiring of the burger scene? Someone, inform the media!"

Her friend laughed openly. "My dear Raven, I think you just cracked a joke!"

Raven's laughter deceased quickly, now aware of what she had done. She let her mind wander. Where was Malchior? She hadn't seen him all day.

Karen's rhythmic voice pulled her back to reality. "As I was saying," She accentuated, throwing a dramatic look at Raven. "Let's go somewhere else for lunch today."

She thought it over in her head, nodding. "Where would you suggest?"

Karen beamed. "I know an Italian place that opened—"

"You promised, Gar! You promised me!" The sound of a screaming girl interrupted Karen.

Karen and Raven exchanged glances and turned to see what was causing the commotion. It was Terra, yelling at Gar for reasons unknown. Her nose flared and she threw down a heart-shaped box, cracking the mirror on the inside.

"But Terra, I—"

"No!" Terra yelled, stomping out of the cafeteria. The room was silent for a few seconds, and then returned to its usual hustle and bustle, the occasional sound of whispers echoing the area.

Gar picked up the shattered box and head outside, head hung. The remaining four sighed and turned to their food, feeling it was best to leave Gar alone.

* * *

Raven stared after him, eyes contemplative. After a few moments, she excused herself and followed him. She found him by a small pond filled in the courtyard, filled with carp, skipping rocks.

"Hey," She said, sitting down next to him. He didn't even turn his head.

"Hey."

"Um…so, are you okay?" She mumbled, sorting through the words. She wasn't exactly used to this kind of thing.

"I'm not going to lie," He replied, throwing another rock at the water. Raven nodded and rested her chin in her palm.

"What happened?"

"Terra lived on her own for some time. She was found by the admissions officer at her old public school and they offered her a scholarship here; she didn't give me the details. Rich kinda guessed and she flipped out. I was the only person she told, see, so she assumed it was me who told."

"Oh."

"Yeah," Gar twisted around to the rock next to him and handed her the mirrored-box. "I made this for her, but…"

Raven took it, turning it over in her hands. "It's very nice."

"That's what she said."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Raven, I'm the one who should be apologizing to _you_. When Terra came…we—"

"Replaced me?"

"Yeah, but you gotta believe me, we didn't mean to."

Raven hugged her knees to her body. "But you did."

"I know. And I wish sorry was enough."

She turned her head sadly to him, giving him a faint smile. "So do I."

Raven stood up, preparing to leave, when a hand rested on her leg. She turned to look at Gar, giving her a sincere smile. Not a toothy grin, not a cheesy smirk, but a simple, real, genuine tug on his lips. "Please, stay."

She felt the blood rushing to her cheeks, her brain turning slowly to goo. "I—"

"Aw…c'mon Rae," He said boyishly.

Raven pushed a strand of loose hair behind her ear as she sat. (Aww! Nervous gesture!)

They were both quiet for some time, just staring ahead and occasionally at each other. "So where do you and Karen go during lunch?" He finally asked.

"Out, Karen, Jen, Wally, and I usually go to a diner. Although today we'll probably go for Italian," Raven replied dully.

Gar seemed to be thinking. He knew Wally and Karen, but who was Jen? He'd heard the name before.

"Jen?"

"I think you've seen her before. Pink hair, black eyes, kind of rude when you first meet her…"

Gar chuckled, somewhat nervously. The last time he'd met Jen, it hadn't been very pleasant. "Oh, right."

The bell rang and the courtyard filled with students, some of which gathered around the pond. The two both blushed and mumbled their goodbyes, despite the fact they were going to the same class.

* * *

The next day, Terra was no where to be seen.

"Where's Terra?" Vic asked.

"I heard she moved to LA or something," Rich mumbled. A faint laughter from someone who never laughed echoed to their table. The now-four all turned to see Raven and Malchior. Malchior had said something amusing, it seemed, and Raven couldn't stop giggling, her cheeks flushed pink.

Kori's green eyes widened and she scooted closer to Rich, who wrapped an arm around her shoulder for comfort.

"That jerk," Gar spat. Everyone else nodded to agree.

"Where's Karen?" Vic asked, suddenly losing his appetite.

No one knew, so no one said. They watched the two until parted, Raven's hand clasped at her throat to steady her breath, Malchior's face set in a sly grin. Backs turned to each other, neither saw the other's gesture.

* * *

**Again, in a rush, so I can't say much.**

**Enjoy and review!**

**Oh, but um, I just want to say that I try to keep the characters as close to their animated counterparts. So, Terra does come back. Like in the animated series...get it?**

**k, enjoy!**

**don't forget to review!**


	11. Rachel

**I apologize deeply for the shortness of this chapter.**

**But I'm at 99 reviews! Yay!**

**This chapter is dedicated to Jess and Katie, my ever-faithful betas and friends! I give you a litle shout out; even though your last names suck majorly! And katie...before you kill me, the last name was Jess's idea...**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I owned TT, THEY WOULD NOT BE CANCELED. :D**

* * *

"Raven—what the hell was that!" Gar yelled. The only thing that kept him from screaming out loud was the fact that they were in the hallway and he was already getting weird looks. 

"What was what?" She asked dully, sliding her books into her locker with ease. Breakfast was over in roughly ten minutes, and her first class was on the other side of the campus. She needed to hurry.

"Um, hel-lo? The Malchior thing!" He hushed himself, clenching his fists.

"Oh," She replied calmly, "He asked me to the dance."

Gar blinked, watching her leave. Shaking his head to bring him back to the real world, he ran to catch up with her.

"Raven, you don't know what he's capable of."

"I know enough! He is magnificent! He knows how to charm a girl, he's handsome, he is…" She paused, thinking for something. She recalled back to a book she was reading about a dragon and a wizard that she was roughly 1/3 done with. "He is a white knight." She said defiantly.

He stopped walking, watching her go. He'd take the long way to first period. "Fear the white knight, Raven! They don't slay dragons; they train them."

Raven continued, walking faster. Just pretend you didn't hear him, she told herself.

* * *

_Social Studies – 1st period, Mr. Gavin_

_They don't slay dragons…they train them…_

That was surprisingly deep, especially for Gar. She glanced over to him. He was doodling on the back of his history homework, eyes glazed over. He was just sketching, not really paying attention to what he was drawing.

She craned her head to see the sketch. It was of a girl, facing a sunset. It was done in pencil, so the details couldn't really be seen. At first she thought he was drawing Terra, but when her hair stopped at her shoulders, she knew it couldn't be. Terra had long, waist-length hair.

She knew she had been staring too hard when he turned to look at her. His face was cold and nearly unfeeling as he looked at her, save for the tiniest hint of pink on his cheeks. He returned back to his drawing and turned a slight red as he studied it. He crumpled it into a ball of paper and nearly ripped it in half, until he realized that this was his history homework.

"Class, when I call your name, please bring up your homework," Mr. Gavin called from his desk, not bothering to look up.

"Kori Anders…"

Gar let out a small 'eek', and rumbled around the floor for his fallen pencil.

"Katie Ferrishwiddle…"

Finding it, Gar grabbed his pencil and quickly tried to erase the art.

"Rich Grayson…"

Unfortunately for him, the pencil had a black eraser and created more smear marks. He looked around the room frantically.

"Jess Katzopolis…"

He grabbed a writing utensil off of Vic's desk, only to find it was a pen.

"Zack Lester…"

Not bothering to ask, Gar darted for the pencil on Raven's desk, not caring if she needed it or not. Finally relieved it worked; he managed to erase the drawing.

"Gar Logan…"

Gar put on his best oh-yeah-who's-good face and smacked the paper down on their teacher's desk.

He turned on his heel, throwing a grin at Vic.

"Mr. Logan?"

The smile immediately left his face.

"I don't know if you think this is funny, but try doing your homework next time, Mr. Logan."

"What? But, I—"

"This is a blank piece of paper, Mr. Logan."

The class burst out in laughter. "Oh…" He gulped, pulling on the neck of his white shirt. He must've accidentally erased the homework while he was erasing the drawing!

* * *

The laughter immediately deceased as the same, serious cop that Raven had met before cleared his throat at the door entrance. 

Raven froze in her seat, gripping the ends of the table.

"Miss Roth…may we see you in the office for a moment?"

She looked to the teacher, who gave her a nod. Grabbing her things, she followed him.

_Its okay, Raven…Maybe they found her! Or maybe…No, she didn't want to think about that._

"Raven…" The female cop wasn't there to dull the pain. Instead, it was an even more serious and grouchy officer! "Your Guardian, M. Azar, washed up on the city's beach last night. Scared a lot of the tourists. She took two bullets to the torso, and someone had written in blood 'You cannot run forever' on her back.

"She did not leave a will, so all of her possessions will go to you."

The words did not come to Raven's mouth. They didn't even form in her brain. She was numb; unfeeling to the world.

"Miss Roth?"

Nothing.

"Miss Roth…?"

What could she say? She saw the men's mouth's moving, frantically trying to get her attention, but her mind was elsewhere. She could hear them, and yet she could not.

Seconds to minutes, minutes to hours. She lost track of the time, lost in her own mind.

Feeling lifted out of her body, a small girl watched the scene from above. Rachel tucked a strand of near-violet hair behind her ears. She wasn't flying—just floating.

Who was she? This girl, they were talking to. It wasn't her. And yet, she could feel the girl's pain.

The girl's name was Raven Roth. Roth…that had been her mothers name. Her name was Rachel…she never wanted to repeat _his_ last name ever again.

This girl, Raven, was afraid. Watching her sit there like a vegetable, eyes boring into the wall, Rachel absorbed the girl's thoughts. Azar was dead? She couldn't be...no, they had just come back from Disney Land. That was impossible.

Rachel stared down at her own hands. What she saw scared her; they were transparent. She wasn't breathing, but she didn't need to. And then she understood. Rachel was Raven's memory.

An outward force pulled Rachel down towards the unblinking girl. She cried in despair, trying to dig her hands into the wall, but they just swiped through.

She screamed as she reentered the girl's body, and this time it came out through her mouth. The last thing she remembered was the office floor, and then…black.

* * *

**Again...this chapter is very short. I wanted to add more, but I _do_ have a life folks and only so much time on the computer. **

**CLIFFHANGER!**

**And Gar is so jealous. :p Three guesses who he was drawing. Yes, I'm a BB/Rae shipper, so they will be a couple. Someday. Eventually. **

**REVIEW SO I CAN HIT 100! 100th review gets a shout out next chapter.**


	12. Hospitals, Nurses, and New Beginnings?

**Chapter...oh, I've lost count by now. Screw it.**

**And yes, my counting skills are really that bad.**

**I'm aware how short this chapter is! I'm sorry...but lets try to remember that I do have a life and am suffering from a bad case of writer's block. Btw, I'm gonna be starting another story while still writing this one, with a gender-bendered universe:D**

**Okay, so as I said, Jess was my 100th reviewer. Though I kind of think she got an unfair advantage, because I told her about it before anyone else...**

**Starting now, at every 50th review I get, the person will get a cameo or a shout out! So first person to give me my 150th review...yay! And I won't do the same person twice, just so it's fair. If Jess gets 150, it'll go to the 151th person!**

**Disclaimer: I own. Nothing. I'm sure you realize this, because if ANY of us owned TT, it wouldn't be canceled, and we wouldn't be wasting our time writing fanfics about the show, we'd just actually put in the show! DUH.**

**Oh, and happy v-day, everyone! Even though I am completely against it and the fact that it was created by the greeting card industry, I still don't mind all the chocolates and fluff stories that go along with it! -munches on a box of chocolates from a certain someone-**

* * *

When Raven awoke, she didn't recognize her surroundings. Her bed was flat and uncomfortable, without much padding. The room was white-washed; the only decoration was a few floral arrangements resting on a white cabinet and a lone black television that had been hung from the wall so she could watch it without moving.

Oh…fuck.

* * *

She lost track of how long she had lied there, staring at the wall. She wanted to move, she really did, but a feeling inside of her was too stubborn. Maybe she was just lazy. 

Eventually, a candy-stripper nurse had been passing by her room, pushing a tray full of pills, and had seen her awake. The nurse brightened at the sight of Raven's open eyes, leaving her cart in the middle of the hallway. If Raven had had the energy, she probably would've snorted at the nurse's ADD.

"I'm so glad you're awake!" She cooed, sitting on her knees so she was at bed-level. "We thought you'd never wake up!" She laughed at her own joke, but Raven didn't find it all too humorous.

"I bet you're hungry!" The nurse said, tilting her head at Raven. "I was assigned to look after you. You can call me Jess."

Had she not been so tired, she would've rubbed her temples in annoyance. Dear god, this woman was worse then Gar. She talked, and talked, and talked nonstop for perhaps an hour straight, before finally remembering that she should go get Raven something to eat.

She came back several times before she actually returned _with the food_, each time hitting her head and laughing at her memory lapse.

The next time she'd appeared after finally bringing the food, she was even more chipper, announcing Raven had visitors. She was surprised at who entered. She'd been expecting Karen, Jen, or Wally, but instead it was Vic and Kori.

"Hello," Kori practically whispered, looking out of her comfort zone and nervous.

Vic mimicked her greeting, though he looked more comfortable. He pulled up a chair for himself and one for Kori next to Raven's bed, trying not to stare at the white lines trailing up Raven's arms.

"Rich and Gar are comin' soon. Some crazy nurse talked to us for nearly fifteen minutes about nothing. Me an' Kori managed to escape, but…" He trailed off, chuckling.

Raven had been about to correct his grammar, but decided against it.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I passed out and hit my head on the floor so hard it gave me a concussion," Raven said dryly.

"You were out for like a day," Vic added. Raven glared at him as hard as her brain would allow without hurting herself with a look that screamed 'Not helping.'

When Kori continued not to speak, just wincing at Raven's scarred arms, Vic lit up like a light bulb, as though remembering something. "Oh, yeah, Karen told me to tell you she'll be comin' by later today. Jen and Wally are on some extended school-hours class trip, so they'll see ya tomorrow, or something."

What was she supposed to say? Damn, this was awkward.

Neither of the two girls had anything else to say.

"Uh…so the doctors said you could leave tomorrow if everything goes well," He continued, hoping to bring at least one of them out of their shell.

Fortunately, this time the room wasn't so quiet. Gar made no attempt to hide his relief as he burst into the room, looking back over his shoulder as he closed the hospital room door. Rich just looked relieved but his keep his usual cool, pulling himself up a chair. Gar did the same; though not before handing Raven a stuffed Teddy Bear with the words 'Get Better!' written across its stomach.

By now the four will pulled into a circle around Raven, and a unison feeling of ecstasy and reminisce filled the five's minds. Despite the IVs and uncomfortable atmosphere hospital's usually carried, with someone possibly dying the next room down, Raven was trying her best not to smile.

It was just like old times…no, it wasn't.

Old times were old for a reason, just a memory…

Then why did she want to relieve the memory so damn bad?

Karen, Jen, Wally…her friends. There was no way she'd ditch them for her old friends, who only wanted her back because Terra had left. Right?

And people say three is a crowd…try eight.

* * *

Surprisingly, the tension didn't last long. It _was_ just like old times, though Raven didn't want to admit it. The first three months she had at JCA. Before Terra, before the Azar problem, before whatever was going on with Malchior, before she met Jen or Wally, not that she didn't dislike it one bit, before anything. 

It just had been that five, occasionally Karen. But what none of them had realized yet was that things change, and things did change between them.

But maybe, what none of them realized yet was that not all change is bad, and perhaps this change was for the better…

* * *

For the first time in a long time, Raven felt the closest thing to happy she'd allow. Fallen back in her old group of Vic, Kori, Rich, and Gar…Gar…err, moving on, Karen, Wally, and Jen had been understanding. Both groups had been, and had even sort of welded together in some ways. It wasn't just Karen, Jen, and Wally; sometimes it was Karen, Wally, Kori, or Gar, Jen, or Rich, etc. 

Raven and Karen continued to go out for lunch with Jen and Wally, who had become undeniably close, and sometimes others of the 'group' would join in. Despite Raven's improvement with her cutting, Karen insisted Raven continue her classes until Jen had filled out her quota so she wouldn't be alone. And a secret part of her that she hadn't admitted was she still feared for Raven's health.

It was true, Raven piled herself into her schoolwork to forget about Azar and the blackout, and the eerie dream she'd had about a younger self watching from above.

Not much had been heard from Malchior, who'd left Raven a note saying he'd be leaving for a few weeks but be back in time for the dance. If Gar had told anyone about him asking her to the dance, they'd kept quiet about it.

Rumors circled Malchior's disappearance, all of which Raven chose to ignore.

Terra was a delicate subject to mention, around Gar especially. He'd been sad for the first few days until Raven's collapse and hospital visit, but then had dealt with it the only way he could, and it never failed: smiling and bad jokes.

In short, despite most conflicts, everything was "normal". Then again, what was normal?

Was it the stereotype of normal, of all-American boys and girls raised by not rich but not middle-class families who played sports and did well in school? Or was it just a feeling that everything was okay, even if it was only temporarily?

* * *

"**Raven**? Oh my god, **Raven**!" 

Raven froze. She thought she'd been free of that strident, shrill voice. But nooo, it looked like she wasn't through with Raven yet.

She and Jen had been taking the bus home after 'class' when the nurse from the hospital boarded. Jen sent Raven a confused glance, unaware who this annoyingly loud woman was. Jen never got the opportunity to visit Raven in the hospital, something she couldn't help but be thankful for. Needless to say, Jen wasn't much of a hospital person.

Raven, on the other hand, slid lower in her seat and attempted to hide under the hood of her sweatshirt, a habit she did whenever she was embarrassed.

"Is this seat taken?" The nurse gestured to the empty seat sitting across from them.

Raven looked up from under her hood, her amethyst eyes being the only things showing. Doing her best not to groan, she shot Jen a be-careful look as a warning and greeted the nurse as kindly as she could.

"Hi guys! Oh, hey, see those pants on that woman over there? I have those pants…oh my god I totally heard about this thing…"

* * *

**Jess has ADD! At least this one does, lol. **

**Uh...so yeah. REVIEW!**

**And I'm aware this chapter didn't have much point, but I thought I'd give the angst a break. Plus with writers block, writing dull chapters where nothing happens kind of helps.**

**Oh, and I've gotten some messages telling me how rushed the story is. Please note that each chapter takes place over at least one day, some even a week or three! So far, this story has taken place over the period of about 4-5 months, ok? Jeeze.**


	13. No Shit, Sherlock

**This is a few weeks after the last chapter. Next chap will explain, this one's pretty angsty, but also we get some fluff!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. If I seriously did, do you think I would let CN cancel me! F--k you, Cartoon Network! F--k you!**

* * *

Raven's head snapped up with a start. Eyes wide and breath unsteady, she clutched her collarbone with her hand. As she did so, she caught sight of her wrist. One of the cuts she had inflicted herself had reopened, bleeding profusely over her arm.

She blinked and looked down, clutching the only sheet that covered her body. She was lying on a mattress on the ground, stained with her blood. She blinked around, the memories slowly coming back.

_I just want to make a quick stop; Raven…We'll go to the dance in a few minutes… _

_Such a pretty girl…let me help you out of that dress… _

_Dear me, I've forgotten the most important thing. We wouldn't want any 'accidents', would we? _

_Don't move or I'll make sure it's the last thing you'll ever do…_

She eyed the ripped silk dress she had spent hours picking out, also tainted with blood. There, next to it, sat the miniature black bag she had used as her purse,

She lunged at it, digging through it rapidly. She threw out anything that wasn't what she was looking for. She finally found what she was so intent on finding, numbly pressing the buttons.

An equally unsteady voice, but for different reasons, picked up quickly. "Hello?" The voice asked into the phone.

She stammered, racking her brain for the words.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"Gar…" She wheezed; shocked at how awful her voice sounded.

Alarm coursed through his veins. "Rae? What's going? Where are you?"

"Help me…"

"What? What's going on?" He repeated desperately.

"He's coming…"

"Who's coming? Raven? Talk to me!"

"I-I don't remember much…just…a warehouse…sail boats…gears…"

"Tell me what's going on?" He shouted into the phone. Raven could hear muffled cries in the background and the sounds of blaring music.

"Malchior—" The voice abruptly ended, leaving Gar alone with a dial tone.

"Raven!" He shouted into the phone. There was no answer, just the deafly annoying ring that he wanted to strangle. He eventually snapped the phone closed. Six eyes stared at him intently.

"What's going on, man?" Vic. Good ol' Vic. Always fun but always serious when the time came.

Gar blinked and looked up. They had all decided, save for Raven, to go to the under age club. Raven of course had told them she'd go, but never showed up. In the end, she had ended up going to the dance with Malchior, it seemed. Except for the fact that she never made it that far.

* * *

As a part of him explained the phone call as they walked towards Vic's car, his "baby", the other part watched their faces curiously. Kori looked terrified. All knew, except for Wally and Jen, Kori's past experience with Malchior. 

He had been forever attractive, convincing her to go out with him. She'd agreed, much to Rich's suspicion. At the time, everyone assumed it was jealousy. Which, in a way, it was.

It had been the classic case of date rape. He'd been polite, charming, and appealing, throughout the whole date, but when it came time for it to end; he'd told her he wanted to "show" her something.

If it hadn't been for Malchior's roommate, Kori could've been the standard teenaged mother.

No one but Kori's close family and friends knew what had really happened, but there were several rumors circling about Malchior's disappearance. Truth be told, he had taken those two or three months off for serious psychotherapy.

He'd been released early, due to excellent behavior. Not early enough, in any of their opinions. But it seemed fate was not on their side, and no one ever got the chance to explain to Raven. Not that she'd had believed them, though.

His gaze turned to Karen. She was filled with righteous fury from head to toe, her face red in frustration.

Being Karen's roommate, she'd always had somewhat of an opportunity to tell Raven; thus, she blamed herself. Dressed in her favorite outfit, black pants and a yellow and striped tank top, Karen's body was completely numb to the cold.

Vic looked serious, walking with hand's clenched. Vic was the typical big brother. Annoying when he wanted to be, but seriously overprotective.

Especially of Raven. He didn't know why, but he'd always had a bond with Raven. It had probably started when she'd been forced to take Mechanics as an AP class and had helped him rebuild his "baby". He had laughed at Gar's jealousy, for this was before Terra, and was always trying to play cupid. He failed miserably, however, making Raven always even more pissed off at Gar, who had no idea what was going on.

Rich was reassuring Kori, arm around her comfortingly. Rich was probably angriest, next to Gar.

Rich was nearly as protective of his friends as Vic was. If something went wrong, Rich was first to blame himself. He was always that way, no matter the situation. He'd be the first one to say, or to think:

'I could've done something', or, 'I should've seen it coming'.

He'd put aside the angry comments for Kori's sake, who was in emotional breakdown right now.

Gar switched his eyes to the last two, Wally and Jen. Had the situation not been so dire, he would've laughed at them. They were completely out of their comfort zone and looking exactly opposite of how they usually did.

The normally arrogant and in-charge Jen looked fearful and nervous, clutching to Wally's arm like he was going to evaporate into thin air. She knew Malchior the least, and thus her mind was jumping to the worst conclusions possible. Jen was normally a steady person, but if something happened that was completely out of her control, she lost it.

Wally, on the other hand, looked a lot like Vic. His jaw was so tight it practically needed to be pried open to let air out and in. Thank heavens for noses, or Wally would've gone without air for a good few seconds by now. The usually perky and hyper-active boy had been replaced temporarily by a serious and determined man that kind of scared Gar.

This brought us to Gar, who was right now feeling every single emotion that fell under the category of worry, love, jealousy, rage, and fear. He was worried for Raven, and for what Malchior would do. Malchior was a master of manipulation, able to turn the stickiest of moments in his favor. And he was a sex-crazed demon, which _really_ didn't help the situation.

He also feared what would happen when they got to the warehouse…it had to be the one on Pier 41, because that was the only one with gears in it within a ten mile radius of the docks. Would he find Malchior leaned over Raven, doing…whatever, or would he find Raven in the worst case scenario; dead.

And a part of him tickled at his body, teasing and taunting. It was jealousy, nagging at his soul like the little kids you want to strangle after they point out something you missed.

'TOLD YA SO! TOLD YA! I WAS RIGHT, WASN'T I? HA HA! YOU WERE WRONG AND I WAS RIGHT!'

He was pulled into reality as Vic fumbled with his car keys anxiously.

"C'mon, c'mon…" He nagged, shuffling through the keys to find the right one.

He'd finally gotten the right one and everyone was in the car before he'd even put in the ignition. The car was a five seater, so Kori and Karen had double-buckled, as well as Wally and Gar, being the two scrawniest…err, smallest boys.

Vic pulled into a quick stop after the worst car ride Gar had ever been in ended. It had been tense, full of silence and awkward anxiety.

Gar was the first one out, despite the fact he'd had to crawl over Wally. The red head hadn't seemed to have minded, following after quickly. The docks were a maze of buildings, and Pier 41 just happened to be straight in the middle. Karen had been the first to find it.

They split into two groups; Karen, Wally, and Jen taking the back door, while Gar, Vic, Rich, and Kori went through the garage-like door.

They'd found Malchior, pressing Raven against the wall, the sheet barely covering her body any more.

Raven had seen them, but Malchior had not. She'd not relaxed, but found comfort in Gar's angry vehemence.

* * *

A part of Raven's mind had already passed out. Raven had managed to keep him off of her…in _that_ way, by a force she didn't understand. He'd lunged at her, but somehow landed on the ground. It was strange, because he was so close to her. 

Raven was a person with a split personality. Bipolar, one might say. Raven had once had a dream, a very strange dream she might add, about Raven dressed in her school uniform. The strange part was that there had been more then one, eight to be exact, all dressed in different colors then her usual uniform. There had been a pink, a yellow, a dark green, a purple, an orange, a brown, a gray, and finally a malicious red. They'd each been different, each their own personality. It had been strange, to sum it up.

And right now, the different Raven's from her dream weren't exactly in control, but they were using great influence. A creepily happy Raven dressed in pink laughed and giggled as they saw Gar approach, another dressed in purple sighing dreamily. A few others rolled their eyes, where some just smiled widely or breathed relief.

Gar walked straight up, eerily calmly, tapping Malchior on the shoulder. He'd whipped around angrily, and Gar socked him straight in the eye. The last thing Raven remembered was hitting the ground, Kori's hands firmly cupping her head.

It was lucky for Raven that she'd fainted then, because had she seen what followed, she could've been scarred even further.

Gar continued to clout him furiously in the face, stomach, wherever he got the chance. He'd been pulled off Malchior after a good five punches by Karen, who'd pushed him aside.

In her hand, Karen held a metal pole. Where she got the pole, no one knew. No one dared to question Karen right then, her eyes held so much fury.

Malchior held up a hand to try to defend himself verbally. "Wait, Karen—"

She laughed so heartily it sent chills running down their spines. "Words won't get you out of this mess, pretty boy."

She brought the pole down, **_hard_**. "Don't…you…ever…touch…my…friend!" She screamed between blows. He got up and ran, but she wasn't done. Giving a furious battle cry, she chased him with the pole, bringing him to the ground once more. One of her buns was slowly unraveling, falling into her face. Everyone, at that moment, made a mental note **_never_** to piss off Karen.

Malchior ran straight into Rich, who had been waiting with months of bundled up wrath. He grinned evilly and cracked his knuckles, bringing Malchior to the ground with a blow to the head. Karen made another attempt at him with the pole, but Vic and Kori held her back.

Jen had composed herself and was ready to add her attack, but a firm grip on her shoulder from Wally had kept her in check. Temper settling, she fell into his arms.

The near-rapist had been knocked unconscious as he hit the ground, lying on the cement pitifully.

* * *

The next time Raven awoke, the scene was much less apprehensive and dark. She was in her own room, and she awoke not to be alone. Gar and Karen sat at the end of her bed, a cup of steaming tea in Gar's hands. He handed the cup to her. She accepted gratefully, pouring the searing liquid down her throat with no regard for the intense heat. 

"Is he…"

"You won't ever be hearing from him again, Rae," Gar said with a meager smile. It was fragile, but Raven savored it all the same. Her eyes lingered on him a little too long for Karen's taste, and Gar realizing it, broke the silence with one of his moment-ruining comments.

"You should've seen Karen, Rae. She kicked Malchior's butt all the way back to England."

Raven smiled weakly, eyeing Karen. Karen puffed her chest up and grinned. Taking the now empty mug, Karen got off the bed.

"I'll be back with some more tea in a few minutes," She said with a wink to Raven, then a sharp glance to Gar.

Gar scooted a little closer the minute the door closed. "Is everything okay?"

"No. But if it had been, I'd be questioning my sanity," She replied, forever Raven.

Gar smiled a little more widely. "Good." He scooted a little closer, slipping his hand into hers. He could hear her heartbeat rise in her chest. He grinned mentally.

"I was really worried about you, you know," He was now whispering, breathe hovering on her face. Her eyes widened. Since when did he wear button-up shirts? Even more so, since when did he not bother to button it up even two thirds?

She studied his clothes a little more closely. A cotton white button-up shirt that wasn't near to being all the way done, giving her a full few of a hairless, tanned chest. Since when did HE have a six pack? Her eyes trailed farther, resting on the khaki shorts he'd bought with Karen, Rich, and Raven. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Gar had the worse fashion sense in the world, really.

She blinked, and she was staring directly into his green eyes. Damn, those eyes were green.

Before she knew it, his hand was cupping her chin and his lips were pressed gently against hers. It wasn't forceful; it wasn't threatening or slobbery, but passionate all the same. She opened her mouth, exploring the inside of his mouth with her tongue.

Inside Gar's mind, there were two things happening. Gar's inner teenager was doing the "Gar dance", which was bringing closed fists in a circle. The other part of Gar, a part he didn't know what was, was staring, wide eyed. Gar, truth be told, had absolutely no idea what he was doing or the consequences it would face.

_Holy crap! I'm kissing Raven! _

No shit, Sherlock.

The two broke apart as Karen stood in the doorway, looking fairly amused. Her eyes held a small twinkle that seemed to say:

'Mess with her, and I'll mess with you right back'. And Gar all too well Karen had no intention of holding back when it came to her friends, even if it had been one of her friends to hurt the other in the first place.

"Was I interrupting something?"

* * *

**This is a fairly long chapter. Please do note that this takes place a week or two after the last chapter, if not three. **

**Next chapter will just be Raven telling the story and learning of Malchior's past, and...well, I won't give too much away. **

**Damn, Karen. I love you. 33**

**Review!**


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